§ 38. Mr. Wakefieldasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that tradesmen in the Army skilled in trades in which there is a surplus are being used for unskilled work, whilst unskilled men are being trained as tradesmen; and will he take steps to give opportunity for these skilled tradesmen in surplus trades to be trained in other trades before calling for unskilled men?
§ Sir J. GriggIt is not clear to me to which tradesmen my hon. Friend refers. All mechanical and electrical tradesmen are, or shortly will be, employed in their trades. Most men mustered as such in the building trades are in the Royal Engineers, which must always have a large number of skilled men of this type immediately available when engaged in active operations. All men in this corps 653 are classified by the Army as tradesmen. Others have become fully trained soldiers in fighting units and cannot at this stage in the war be removed without impairing the efficiency of those units. I am satisfied that no change is justified in the policy now followed by the Army in this question, a policy which was explained in some detail in Command 6339, but if my hon. Friend has any particular cases in mind which he considers should be looked into I will gladly do so if he will send me details.
§ Mr. WakefieldIs my right hon. Friend aware that there is a large number of surplus woodworkers doing unskilled work and that these' men could be very quickly and easily trained to work in metal, in which trade the Army needs men?
§ Sir J. GriggThis is a subject which has been debated very thoroughly and gone into very thoroughly, and I am afraid I could not deal with it within the limits of a Parliamentary answer, but I am quite ready to discuss it with my hon. Friend if he likes.