LABOUR ADVISER. (Hansard, 10 May 1939)

§ 56. Mr. Riley
asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has yet appointed a labour officer for Jamaica; and, if so, what are the scope of his functions?

Mr. M. MacDonald
Yes, Sir. Mr. F. A. Norman, an Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, has been selected as Labour Adviser to the Government of Jamaica. He will organise a Labour Department in the Colony, and his duties will cover all customary questions connected with labour.

§ Mr. Riley
Has he already gone out?

Mr. MacDonald
No, Sir. I think he is sailing on 22nd May.

§ Sir Joseph Nall
Has the officer concerned ever been to Jamaica or had any experience there?

Mr. MacDonald
This officer has a very considerable experience of labour questions and of labour conciliation, but I do not think he has got actual first-hand experience of conditions in Jamaica.

§ Sir J. Nall
Was his experience in this country or in the Colonies?

Mr. MacDonald
His experience has been for the greater part at any rate, in this country. It is very difficult, when we are establishing this labour service throughout the Colonies, to find a sufficient number of qualified officers with Colonial experience in the first instance.