58. Miss Wardasked the Minister of Agriculture why he continues to import unskilled woman-power into agriculture through the expensive organisation of the Women's Land Army, while allowing regular women workers to be drawn away from the land through the failure of his Department to ensure them a national minimum wage and then to reserve their services?
Mr. HudsonI have no evidence that women who were working regularly in agriculture before the war have been drawn away in any considerable numbers. Their wages, like those of men, have in most cases been substantially increased recently. The Women's Land Army was 419 formed to provide a new source of labour which would not otherwise be readily available to agriculture, and nearly 9,000 of its members are now in regular agricultural employment.
Miss WardIs the Minister aware that on the last occasion he said there was no reservation of regular women workers, who are free to go to other work of national importance; and would it not be better to engage regular women agricultural workers to stay on the land rather than introduce new workers under rather expensive machinery?
Mr. HudsonIf the hon. Member has any particular cases in mind and will let me have particulars, I will have them looked into.