HC Deb 04 May 1939 vol 346 cc2041-2
2. Lieut.-Commander Fletcher

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the House any information as to what numbers are employed under apprenticeship schemes in Germany, and what hours are worked?

Mr. E. Brown

As the reply is necessarily rather long, I will, with the hon. and gallant Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Lieut.-Commander Fletcher

Can the right hon. Gentleman state whether any element of compulsion is introduced in those apprenticeship schemes?

Mr. Brown

I would not like to give a simple answer on a matter of this kind.

Following is the reply:

The only statistics in my possession regarding the number of apprentices in Germany relate to apprentices employed, under written indentures valid for two years or more, in trades which are normally insurable under the German unemployment insurance scheme. Moreover the figures do not include apprentices who are in the last year of their apprenticeship. Subject to these reservations the numbers of apprentices in Germany (excluding Austria and the Sudeten Areas) was 933,068 at the end of February, 1939, the latest date for which statistics are in my possession. The branches of economic activity excepted from the scope of the unemployment insurance scheme in Germany are agriculture (including horticulture), forestry, inland fishing (including pisciculture), coastal fishing and private domestic service. The normal working time (exclusive of rest intervals) of apprentices and other young workers in Germany, who are under 18 years of age, is eight hours a day and 48 hours a week, or, on continuous processes, 52 hours a week, on an average over a fortnight. (For workers of all ages in coal mines, the length of the shift has recently been extended by 45 minutes, to not more than 8 hours 45 minutes).

The working time of workers under 18 years may be extended by half an hour a day on preparatory or complementary work, and to not more than nine hours a day in order to make up lost time or in undertakings in which an irregular distribution of working hours over the week is necessary. As a rule, workers under 18 years may not be required to perform overtime; but, where overtime is urgently necessary in the public interest, in particular for the training of young workers, the factory inspectorate may authorise the extension of their working time to not more than 10 hours a day and not more than 54 hours a week. If urgently necessary in the public interest, additional extension may be authorised by the Federal Minister of Labour or, in mines by the Federal Minister of Economic Affairs. Workers under 18 years of age must as a rule be accorded the time necessary for their compulsory attendance at technical schools, without loss of pay. For workers of 18 years and over, the normal working time is eight hours a day; but, in special circumstances, the working time may be extended to 10 hours a day, and, if urgently necessary in the public interest, additional extensions may be authorised by the Federal Minister of Labour.