§ 6. Captain Pluggeasked the Minister of Labour the reason for the continued existence of over 32,000 unemployed in the various branches of the engineering industry and the existence of over 18,000 in the shipbuilding and shiprepairing industry; and whether it is proposed to absorb them in the repair and replacement of our losses at sea?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe figures quoted by my hon. and gallant Friend cover all unemployed workers belonging to these industries, including office staff; moreover, a proportion are temporarily unemployed between successive jobs, this being so particularly with repair workers. The number of skilled mechanics unemployed in the engineering trades is small; a similar position is approaching in the shipbuilding industry, and my information is that any surplus of skilled mechanics in this industry is likely soon to have opportunities for employment.