§ 16. Mr. Palingasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can state the terms on which the white employés at the Northern Rhodesia copper mines returned to work after the recent dispute; and, in particular, whether such terms included a guarantee from the mine owners that no African should be employed on skilled labour during the war?
Mr. M. MacDonaldFulldetails of the recent conciliation proceedings have not yet reached me from Northern Rhodesia, but I am informed that the main points in the terms of settlement were (1) time and a half for overtime; (2) provision for a cost-of-living bonus; (3) a concession by the managements to deduct union subscriptions from pay rolls at the voluntary request of individual members: (4) submission to arbitration of a demand for an increase in the basic rate of wages on a scale ranging from 20s. to 28s. per shift; and (5) an undertaking that the question of an investigation into silicosis should be taken up through the Industrial Diseases Committee. The answer to the second part of the Question is in the negative.
§ Mr. PalingWill any of the terms which may have been agreed between the parties be subject to examination by the Commission?
Mr. MacDonaldThe whole question of the strike of Europeans and matters relevant to it can be covered by the terms of reference of the Commission.