§ 74. Mr. STAMFORDasked the Minister of Agriculture the minimum rates of wages, with hours, for male and female agricultural workers in the various areas; the average minimum rates; and the percentage increase over pre-War rates?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Guinness)I am circulating in the
§ MINIMUM RATES of WAGES for ordinary MALE WORKERS of 21 years of age and over and FEMALE WORKERS of 18 years of age and over as in force on 7th March, 1928, in England and Wales.
| Male Workers. | Female Workers. | |||||
| Agricultural Wages Committee Area. | Minimum Weekly Wage | Hours per week in respect of which minimum weekly wage is payable | Minimum hourly rate. | Hours in respect of which minimum rate (where specified). | ||
| Summer. | Winter. | |||||
| s. | d. | d. | ||||
| Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. | 30 | 6 | 50 | 48 | 6 | — |
| Berkshire | 30 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 5* | — |
| Buckinghamshire | 31 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 6 | — |
| Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5½ | 8 per day. |
| Cheshire | 35 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 6 | — |
| Cornwall and Scilly Isles | 31 | 0 | 51 | 51 | 5† | — |
| Cumberland and Westmorland. | 32 | 6 | 54 | — | 5 | — |
| 31 | 0 | — | 48 | 5 | — | |
| Derbyshire | 8d.per hour | 54 (guaranteed). | 54 (guaranteed). | 5 | — | |
| Devonshire | 32 | 6 | 52 | 50 | 5† | — |
| Dorsetshire | 30 | 0 | 51 | 48 | 5 | 51 per week, Summer. 48 per week, Winter. |
| Durham | 31 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 2s. 6d. per day | 8 per day. |
| Essex | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5½† | — |
| Gloucestershire | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5 | — |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight. | 30 | 6 | 51 | 48 | 5 | — |
| Herefordshire | 31 | 0 | 53 | 48 | 4½ | 46½ per week. |
| Hertfordshire | 31 | 0 | 48 | 48 | 24s. per week. | 48 per week. |
§ OFFICIAL REPORT a statement giving the minimum weekly wage for ordinary male agricultural workers of 21 years of age and over and the hours in respect of which it is payable and the minimum rates for adult female workers in every area in England and Wales.
§ Following is the statement:
§ The average of the minimum weekly wake for ordinary adult male workers in the, various areas is 31s. 8d. This represents an increase of 76 per cent. over the estimated weekly wage of 18s. in 1914, but in computing this figure no account has been taken of overtime payments or additional earnings at special seasons, nor has any allowance been made for the reduction in working hours since 1914.
§ The average minimum wage for adult female workers is 5⅓d. per hour. No precise information is available as to the wages of such workers before the War.
1227| Agricultural Wages Committee Area. | Male Workers. | Female Workers. | ||||
| Minimum weekly wage. | Hours per week in respect of which minimum weekly wage is payable. | Minimum hourly rate. | Hours in respect of which minimum rate is payable (where specified). | |||
| Summer. | Winter. | |||||
| s. | d. | d. | ||||
| Kent | 32 | 6 | 52 | 48 | 5½ | 8 perday. |
| Lancashire: | ||||||
| Southern Area | 33 | 6 | 50 | 50 | 6 | — |
| Eastern Area | 42 | 0 | 60 | 60 | — | |
| Northern Area | 37 | 6 | 60 | 60 | — | |
| Leicestershire | 34 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 5 | — |
| Rutlandshire | 32 | 6 | ||||
| Lincolushire: | ||||||
| Holland | 35 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 6 | — |
| Kesteven and Lindsey | 32 | 0 | 52 | 48 | 5½ | — |
| Middlesex | 34 | 4½ | 50 | — | 25s. 0d. | 50 per week, Summer. |
| 33 | 0 | — | 48 | 24s. 0d. | 48 per week, Winter. | |
| d. | ||||||
| Monmouthshire | 32 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 6 | — |
| Norfolk | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5 | 50 per week, Summer. |
| 48 per week, Winter | ||||||
| Northamptonshire and Soke of Peterborough. | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 56 | — |
| Northumberland | 32 | 0 | 52½ | 48 | 5 | 52½ per week, Summer. |
| 48 per week, Winter. | ||||||
| Nottinghamshire | 32 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 5 | — |
| Oxfordshire | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 6 | — |
| Shropshire | 32 | 6 | 54 | 54 | 5 | — |
| Somersetshire | 32 | 0 | 52 | 50 | 6 | — |
| Staffordshire | 31 | 6 | 54 | 54 | 5 | 54 per week. |
| Suffolk | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5† | — |
| Surrey | 32 | 3 | 50 | 50 | 5½ | 50 per week. |
| Sussex | 31 | 0 | 52 | 48 | 5 | 52 per week Summer. |
| 48 per week, Winter. | ||||||
| Warwickshire | 30 | 0 | 50 | 48 | 5 | 50 per week, Summer. |
| 48 per week, Winter. | ||||||
| Wiltshire | 30 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 5 | — |
| Worcestershire | 30 | 0 | 53 | 48 | 4½ | 8 per day. |
| Yorkshire: | ||||||
| East Riding | 35 | 0 | 52½ | 48 | 6 | 44 per week. |
| North Riding | 33 | 0 | 52½ | 48 | 6 | 44 per week. |
| West Riding | 36 | 0 | 52½ | 48 | 6 | 44 per week. |
| Anglesey and Caernarvonshire. | 31 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 6 | — |
| Carmarthenshire | 31 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 5 | 8 per day. |
| Denbighshire and Flintshire | 30 | 6 | 50 | 50 | 5 | 8½ per day. |
| Glamorganshire | 34 | 0 | 52 | 48 | 6 | 8½ per day. |
| Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire. | 31 | 6 | 54 | 54 | 5 | — |
| Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire. | 31 | 0 | 54 | 52 | 5 | 8 per day. |
| Radnorshire and Brecknockshire. | 31 | 0 | 54 | 48 | 5 | 48 per week. |
| *19 years of age and over. | ||||||
| †20 years of age and over. | ||||||
| †21 years of age and over. |