§ 32. Mr. KELLYasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty the amount of overtime 417 worked in the Chatham yard during the last month; the ships on which this extra time was worked; and the workshops in which this overtime was worked?
Mr. ALEXANDERThe answer to the first part of the question is 31,900 hours approximately, of which 7,150 represents that portion of shift working which gives excess of payment over ordinary pay.
§ As regards the second part, the ships and services on which the overtime was worked were principally as follow:
- His Majesty's Ship "Cumberland."
- His Majesty's Ship "Parthian."
- R.F.A. "Hickerol."
- Torpedo tube work.
- Routine services.
- Discharging freight ships.
- Repairs to yard machinery.
- Emergency services.
§ As regards the third part, the bulk of the work was in the engineering department and a lesser amount in the other departments of the yard.
§ In general, shift working was worked wherever feasible. The figures are higher than has usually been the case in the last few months, due to urgent emergency work on the "Cumberland" and the "Hickerol."
§ Mr. KELLYApart from the shift working, could not this overtime be avoided by taking on more workpeople?
Mr. ALEXANDERMy object all the way through has been to arrange for that to be done, but in this case the vessel was required for urgent service with the China squadron. It is not a practice that I should like to see generally adopted.