§ 42. Mr. Harveyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the comments in the Report of the Labour Department for 1942 on the unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in Northern Rhodesia as regards housing in the Copperbelt, the non-payment of cost-of-living allowances, the decline in the quality of farm labour and the inadequate diet and lack of sufficient health services for farm labourers; and what steps are being taken to remedy the position in these matters?
§ Mr. Emrys-EvansYes, Sir; my right hon. and gallant Friend's attention has been called to the Report. The general standard of housing provided by the mining companies on the Copperbelt is recognised to be satisfactory, and my right hon. and gallant Friend has recently called the Governor's attention, in connection with this Report, to the necessity of ensuring that this standard is maintained. The Report refers to the inadequacy of the accommodation existing at one mine at the end of last year. This is now being remedied by means of further building. A cost-of-living bonus is paid to African mineworkers and to certain classes of African Government employees. The Government have no power to compel private employers to pay such a bonus, but the cost of living is kept under constant review, and the Government are subsidizing maize and have declared their readiness to subsidize other essential foodstuffs if necessary. The Report refers to individual complaints that the quality of farm labour is declining, but records that conditions generally as regard diet, health services and housing on the farms, on which the quality of labour depends, are gradually improving. This progress is largely due to the efforts of the Labour Department, which is gradually bringing complaints to light and arranging for them to be remedied.