§ 18. Mr. Simmondsasked the Minister of Aircraft Production what approximate percentage of the scheduled hours was not 1950 worked by employees in industrial undertakings, mainly engaged on contracts for the Ministry of Aircraft Production, over the most recent convenient period?
§ Colonel LlewellinThe latest statistics show that the percentage of non-productive hours in aircraft undertakings is just over 9 per cent. This covers waiting time, Civil Defence, and absenteeism from sickness and other causes.
§ Mr. SimmondsCould the Minister assure me that very careful investigation is made into these statistics so that local and national callings may be severally dissected?
§ Colonel LlewellinThat is so. Wherever we find that absenteeism is particularly bad, we send someone along to go into it and find out why.
§ Mr. G. GriffithsCould the Minister give us the exact percentage of avoidable absenteeism outside sickness? Is not absenteeism on account of sickness higher than avoidable absenteeism? Let the hon. Member for Duddeston (Mr. Simmonds) know that.
§ Colonel LlewellinI have not the precise break-up in these figures for avoidable and unavoidable absenteeism, but in the winter months absenteeism owing to sickness accounts for the larger share of it.
Viscountess AstorIs it not true that it was found in the last war that long hours meant absenteeism, and has it not taken the Government two years to find it out?
§ Colonel LlewellinI do not think that is so, because the hours are not unnecessarily long.