HC Deb 29 March 1944 vol 398 cc1420-4
25. Mr. Sorensen

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what further disturbances have taken place in Cyprus; and what action is being taken to deal with the causes of the discontent.

29. Mr. John Dugdale

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is satisfied with the conditions now obtaining in Cyprus, particularly with regard to the relation between prices and wages.

34. Sir Alfred Beit

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to acts of violence arising from labour difficulties in Cyprus; what action has been taken with the offenders and to prevent their recurrence; and if he can say how they arose.

35. Mr. Mathers

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he proposes to take to prevent undernourishment and disease in Cyprus due to high prices of food, fuel and clothing; and if direct negotiations are now taking place with Cypriot trade union representatives to evolve a policy with the view of bringing wages more into line with the cost of living now 280 per cent. above prewar.

Colonel Stanley

I am glad to say that the strike in Cyprus was settled on 24th March, the Government's offer of an inquiry, which had been made some days previously, being accepted. In view of the interest which has been shown in this strike, I will with hon. Members' permission, circulate a full statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT. This also covers the specific points raised in these Questions.

Mr. Sorensen

Will that statement also include any indication of the steps that are being taken to prevent privation in Cyprus? I am sure that the right hon. and gallant Gentleman is aware that there has been a very considerable amount of privation, which has stimulated the strikes. Is he satisfied that action is now being taken to meet that situation?

Colonel Stanley

There are difficulties there as elsewhere, but I am aware that some unfounded statements have been made, some of which have found their place in these Questions. I shall deal with them in the statement to which I have referred.

Mr. Mathers

In view of the longstanding distrust in Cyprus in consequence of the lack of confidence in the information on which the Government are working as to the cost of living, will the right hon. and gallant Gentleman consider the desir- ability of sending out to Cyprus some independent person who will go into this matter and try to reach a reasonable settlement?

Colonel Stanley

No, Sir. I think the Government are perfectly capable of doing it. With regard to the distrust, that is fostered when inaccurate statements are made such as are included in the hon. Member's Question. For example, he refers to "280 per cent. above pre-war" when the actual figure is 137 per cent.

Sir Alfred Beit

Is there not a great difference between a strike, which is a legitimate weapon, and an act of violence? Will my right hon. and gallant Friend make some reference to the act of violence?

Colonel Stanley

Yes, Sir, I will deal with that point.

Mr. Dugdale

Will there be any opportunity of discussing this report at a later date? It is impossible to discuss it by question and answer.

Colonel Stanley

It is not a report. It is a circulated statement. When hon. Members have read it, it is always possible for them to put a Question down about it.

Following is the Statement:

As has been reported in the Press, a strike took place in Cyprus between 1st and 24th March. About 1,800 men were affected, of whom some 1,200 were employed directly by the Army on military projects and over 400 by the Government of Cyprus on work for the Army. More than two-thirds of the strikers were skilled men. On the 13th March about 5,000 additional men struck in sympathy for one day, bringing military and Government works almost completely to standstill. In order to ensure the continuance of essential military works, skilled military labour was sent for from other sources, and a workshop company of the Cyprus Volunteer Force was called up on 20th March. Apart from demonstrations on 19th March at Larnaca where stones were thrown at the police and at Famagusta where it was necessary for the police to use batons and fire-hoses to disperse the crowd, there has been no disorder. No prosecutions have been instituted by the police as a result of these demonstrations.

The demand of the unions was for an increase in wages, mainly in the wages of unskilled labour. The wages of labour employed on Government work in Cyprus have been substantially increased during the war, the last increase being one of 6 piastres a day, granted on the 1st January which brought the rate to 4 shillings 6 piastres a day. The pre-war rate varied in different districts, the average being 1 shilling 6 piastres a day (there are 9 piastres to the shilling). The current rate therefore represents an increase of 180 per cent. over the average pre-war rate. The official figures show an increase in the cost of living of 144 per cent. in February and 137 per cent. in March over the prewar level. In these circumstances the Government did not feel justified in granting the demand for an increase in wages.

On 12th March an official communiqué was issued in Cyprus promising that the Government would carry out a further inquiry into the relation between wages and the cost of living when the strike was over, and would take account of all available evidence, including the figures which had recently been communicated to them by the trade unions. The inquiry will cover all questions of wages and conditions of employment and the cost of living, and special attention will be given to the wages and allowances of employees who may have a claim to additional pay on the ground of special skill, difficult conditions or long service.

On 24th March the strike ended. The inquiry which is being conducted by three senior Government officials, the Colonial Secretary, the Commissioner of Labour and the Director of Medical Services will begin at once, and the trade unions have undertaken to give their assistance.

As regards the first part of the Question by the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Mathers) I am aware that it has been alleged that tuberculosis and infant mortality have increased and that the increase is due to under-nourishment. The actual figures are as follow:

Tuberculosis

Average annual number of new cases in the years

1934–39 … … … 226

Number of new cases in

1940 … … … 202
1941 … … … 191
1942 … … … 253
1943 … … … 238

Infant Mortality

Average annual mortality per thousand births in the years

1934–39 … … 123.9
Rate in Per thousand births.
1940 … … … 88.8
1941 … … … 107.6
1942 … … … 184.6
1943 … … … 120.8

The medical authorities in Cyprus do not attribute the increased figures for 1942 to under-nourishment. Of the increased figure for tuberculosis in 1942, 10 cases occurred among refugees and 33 among the military. The high rate of infant mortality in that year was due to an epidemic of measles with pneumonic complications. In both cases the figures for 1943 show an improvement and in the case of infant mortality the rate for 1943 is below the average for the six years before the war.

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