§ 1. Rear-Admiral Beamishasked the Minister of Labour whether he will now make a regulation whereby men who may be in reserved occupations, but have previous military experience, or none, can be enabled to join His Majesty's Forces without the loss of pension rights or prospects of re-employment in their present posts, and making it incumbent on their employers to fill their positions during hostilities?
§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. Ernest Bevin)The Schedule of Reserved Occupations is constantly open to revision according to changing circumstances, but if a man is covered by the current provisions of the Schedule, it would be contrary to its whole object to require or allow him to join the Forces.
§ Rear-Admiral BeamishWill the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind, subject to the requirements and safety of the State, that a man's conscience should be allowed free play in this matter; and will he urge upon the employers, who are in some cases sheltering behind the Reserved Occupations list, to free as many men as possible?
§ Mr. BevinI cannot allow conscience to operate in that way as far as the Schedule of Reserved Occupations is concerned. In that case you would probably get so many men away from skilled work that you would upset the whole balance of production. Therefore, I am engaged in the constant revision of the Schedule according to the changed circumstances that arise in each trade.