§ 60. Mr. WARDLAW-MILNEasked the Minister of Transport what proportion of the £118,000,000 paid by the railway companies in salaries and wages in 1928 is represented by the employment of persons whose emoluments were not included in the Board of Trade Return in respect of the year 1913, when the total figure shown was only £44,500,000?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONThe amount of £118,000,000 is made up of approximately £106,000,000 representing the aggregate salaries and wages paid to railway staff in 1928 and approximately £12,000,000 in respect of staff employed in the ancillary businesses of the railway companies. The latter figure includes the staff employed in connection with collection and delivery services which, in the 1913 returns, was grouped with the railway staffs and I am unable to state what deduction should be made in respect of that staff, in order to render the figures for the two years comparable.
§ Mr. WARDLAW-MILNEMay I ask whether the extra staff is a comparatively trivial matter, and that, in fact, a very small figure could be set aside for this service?
§ Mr. MATHERSWill my hon. Friend also bear in mind the fact that in 1913 railway wages were scandalously low?
§ Mr. SPEAKERHon. Members appear to be giving information.