§ 24. Captain Pluggeasked the First Lord of the Admiralty why the present proportion of established to unestablished chargemen in Chatham Dockyard is much lower at the present time than in either of the other two principal home dockyards; and whether he proposes to take any steps to bring the numbers of such established chargemen in Chatham Dockyard up to the level which obtains elsewhere, in the near future?
Mr. CooperThere is no fixed complement of established chargemen at any yard, but, when transfers are made to the established list, a general preference is shown to chargemen, and any chargeman on the permanent list or any other charge-man of trades of over 15 years standing is established automatically. Hence the proportion of chargemen established is much higher than that of ordinary workmen, but the percentages may vary at different yards. In view of the preference already shown to chargemen over ordinary workmen, the Board see no reason to fix a proportion or otherwise to interfere with the discretion of yard officers.