§ 27. Mr. McEnteeasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air, in what way Messrs. F. W. Rigby and Company violated the fair-wages clause; whether 3510 there were under payments of wages due to workmen; what were the numbers of workmen so underpaid and the amount of underpayment; and whether it is proposed to remove the name of the firm from the list of contractors to his department?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Air (Lieut.-Colonel Muirhead)The determination of the rates of wages payable in the trade has proved a complex question and leaves doubt as to how far there may have been an actual breach of the fair-wages clause. The extent to which there were underpayments of wages, if any, to workmen is still a matter on which further information is required and further correspondence is taking place between the Department and the firm. The answer to the last part of the Question is in the negative.