HC Deb 12 June 1941 vol 372 cc306-11
3. Mr. Rhys Davies

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has now considered taking any steps against the employer who dismissed an employé, apparently at a moment's notice, though he alleged that he arrived late at work because his home was damaged by enemy action, bearing in mind that his Department had already taken legal proceedings against six men and one woman for striking in sympathy with him, and that they are now awaiting trial at the Old Bailey?

Mr. Bevin

In view of the legal proceedings to which may hon. Friend refers, it is not desirable that I should make any statement at the present time, beyond mentioning that I must not be regarded as accepting the accuracy of the allegations made in the Question.

Mr. Davies

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that I am not raising the question of the present legal proceedings in respect of the employer, but the point whether the right hon. Gentleman is looking into the case?

Mr. Bevin

The whole of the facts will be brought out in the case.

Mr. Gallacher

Is it not desirable for the Minister to have the legal proceedings withdrawn, and then to make a statement?

Mr. Bevin

No, Sir. When the Minister makes an Order, with the consent of the Trades Union Congress and the Employers' Federation, it is his duty to see that it is enforced.

4. Earl Winterton

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a number of restaurants and stores in London employ men to call taxicabs and open the doors of motor cars for their patrons; and whether he will, in view of the urgent need of men for employment by the war agricultural committees, to do unskilled work under skilled supervisors in ditching and clearing land to be brought under cultivation, cause these men, by his compulsory powers, to be so employed?

Mr. Bevin

Through the operation of the Registration for Employment Order, and other means, active measures are being taken to secure the orderly transfer to important work, including land drainage work, of members of all classes of the community who are not at present pulling their full weight in the war effort. The classes of men to whom the Question refers come within the scope of these measures, along with other men in their respective age groups, though I would point out that frequently their duties are not confined to those specified in the Question.

Earl Winterton

What are the duties, beyond the duty of opening doors for the patrons of these places?

Mr. Bevin

Questions of public order are very often involved in the employment of people in these capacities in large hotels.

Mr. Leslie

Is it not the case that these men are often elderly ex-Service men, many of whom were injured in the service of the country?

Mr. Bevin

That is so.

Mr. Craven-Ellis

In view of the admission of the right hon. Gentleman that there are many people who are not pulling their full weight in this war, will he say how soon he is going to have the manpower of this country organised for total war?

Mr. Bevin

I am not suggesting —

Mr. Speaker

rose—

5. Earl Winterton

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that expensive hotels in London and the provinces employ a larger number of waiters, mostly Cypriots and Class C Italians, than are necessary for a minimum service; and whether he will, as many of these men are of peasant descent, use his compulsory powers to have them transferred for work under the war agricultural committees?

Mr. Bevin

Cypriots who are British subjects and are ordinarily resident in this country, are not exempt from the provisions of the National Service (Armed Forces) Acts, 1939 & 1940, the National Service Act, 1941, and the Registration for Employment Order, 1941, and I see no reason for treating them differently from other British subjects who are affected by these provisions and are being called up, according to age groups, for military service, Civil Defence duties, or civilian employment. Italians who are not interned or prisoners of war will shortly be registered under an International Labour Force Registration Order, after which steps will be taken to ensure that the services of each individual registered are utilised to the best advantage in present circumstances. I have no information about the hotels to which my right hon. Friend refers, but I will have inquiry made, if he can supply details.

Earl Winterton

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, no doubt through no fault of the hotel proprietors or those employed by them, a large number of hotels of different classes have a greater number of persons waiting on customers than is justified, in view of the great shortage of labour on the land, and that many of these men would be only too glad to serve their country on the land?

Mr. J. J. Davidson

Would the right hon. Gentleman keep in mind the fact that many hotel proprietors in this country prefer foreign waiters to British waiters and give them special preference, and that some of the hon. Gentlemen sitting behind him are guilty of that in London?

Mr. Bevin

I do not think that the Minister of Labour can be asked to decide the vices and virtues of Members of this House.

6. Captain Lyons

asked the Minister of Labour the work and functions of the newly-appointed Director-General of Man-power; whether he will consider applications for release or deferment of skilled men wanted for retention in the war effort; and whether he is empowered to hear representations on the general non-user of man-power now existing, to take immediate steps to end the wastage, and to organise the mobilisation of national man-power for intensifying the war effort?

Mr. Bevin

The Director-General of Man-power is in general charge of the Departments of the Ministry which deal with labour supply and training, military recruiting and National Service. He is concerned with all the matters mentioned in the Question and will take action under my authority through the machinery of the Ministry, and subject to the usual arrangements for securing co-ordination of general policy.

Captain Lyons

Does not the right hon. Gentleman consider that the time is ripe that this officer should give immediate attention to the real wastage of manpower that now exists side by side with chaos in some of the essential industries, where men have been taken, while other people take no share in the war effort?

Mr. Bevin

I am continually hearing these charges, but I never get any evidence in support of them. If my hon. and gallant Friend has these extraordinary charges to make, I would welcome evidence of them, and I would inquire into them. I do not think it helps the war effort to cast slurs continually on the great working people of this country.

Captain Lyons

No slur whatever is cast on the working class of this country, but is it not the case that a large number of people outside the working class take every opportunity of evasion and are not stopped?

Mr. Shinwell

Was this civil servant associated with persons of industrial, labour and trade union experience in the discharge of his duties? Is it always desirable to appoint a civil servant, however able he may be, to a post of this kind?

Mr. Bevin

I appointed this particular civil servant because of his long association in the industrial relations department of the Ministry, his association with the insurance side and his experience on the production executive. He has been, the whole of his life, in constant consultation with both sides of industry

7 Captain Lyons

asked the Minister of Labour the functions and powers of Sir William Beveridge's Man-Power Examining Committee; whether the Central Register and the 199,000 names thereon will come under its review; whether it can hear evidence and take cognisance of present non-utilisation of man-power, and the scope for training in consequence, and the proper utilisation of trained men in essential war-drive industries; to whom will the committee make its report; and whether arrangements can be immediately made for additional and ready access, on any urgent recommendation, to the action-taking branch of the Ministry?

Mr. Bevin

The task undertaken by Sir William Beveridge, to which I presume my hon. and gallant Friend refers, is that of acting as chairman of a small committee which has been set up, by arrangement with the heads of the Service Departments, to examine the employment of skilled men in the Forces. This task, though of great importance, will not have the wide scope suggested in the Question. The committee will report to me, and any recommendations it makes will be at once considered and, if approved, will be put into effect without delay.

Captain Lyons

Would the right hon. Gentleman consider the formation of a similar committee having the scope which I indicate in the Question?

Mr. Bevin

No, I do not think it is necessary. The matter has already been dealt with under the supply arrangements.

Earl Winterton

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the possibility of making the report of the committee available to the House in the form of a White Paper?

Mr. Bevin

I will consider that suggestion.

8. Mr. David Adams

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that advertisements in the public Press for valuers in Government Departments as temporary assistant lands officers state that applicants should not be less than 30 years of age; and whether, in view of the national emergency and the fact that the duties concerned could be equally well performed by persons of 45 years of age or over, this age limit will be substituted?

Mr. Bevin

The lower age-limit of 30, mentioned in the advertisement in question, was inserted as being the current age of reservation for members of this profession. Offers of service from senior members of the profession will, however, be welcome.