§ 37. Mr. T. Johnstonasked the Minister of Labour whether he will procure from the International Labour Office or elsewhere, and cause to be placed in the Library of this House, comparisons between the hours of labour and the wages paid to the jute mill workers in Bengal and Dundee, respectively, giving the various sections of spinners, balers, and weavers, and showing male and female labour separately?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour (Mr. Butler)For jute mill workers in Great Britain, minimum rates of wages are fixed by orders issued under the Trade Boards Acts, 1909 and 1918. A copy of the current order is being placed in the Library. Particulars of the average earnings of workpeople in the jute
§ industry in a week in October, 1935, were published on page 47 of the Ministry of Labour Gazette for February, 1937, a copy of which is already in the Library. The latest detailed figures regarding the wages of jute workers in Bengal are given in the "Annual Report on the Administration of the Indian Factories Act in Bengal" for the year 1933, pages 58 to 69. I am arranging for a copy of this report to be placed in the Library.
§ Mr. JohnstonCan the hon. Member say whether that report also deals with hours of labour, and whether it is the case that in the Bengal mills they are now working 54 hours?
§ Mr. ButlerThat is the case.