§ 5. Mr. Walter Edwardsasked the Minister of Labour whether he can make a statement as to the employment of young persons in such work as boiler-scaling and the cleaning of bilges on ships in port.
§ Mr. BevinYes, Sir. I am glad to be able to inform the House that, under the auspices of the Factory Department, an agreement has recently been concluded among the principal organisations of employers and trades unions concerned, under which, among various measures for 2109 the protection and welfare of older workers, it has been agreed that firms engaged in scaling, scurfing or cleaning boilers (including combustion chambers and smoke boxes), or in cleaning oil-fuel tanks or bilges in a ship, should not employ persons under 18 in such work. The agreement applies to ships which have been commissioned, and have been in service, whether they are in a dock, harbour or canal, or in a regular shipbuilding yard. I should add, that any work of this kind done by the master or crew of a ship, is excluded from the Factories Act, and the agreement does not cover it.