HC Deb 02 May 1944 vol 399 cc1176-7
14. Major-General Sir Alfred Knox

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider the possibility of issuing extra clothing coupons for furnacemen in factories where work necessarily involves extra wear and tear.

Mr. Dalton

Yes, Sir. Furnacemen, like many other workers, are entitled to ten coupons in addition to their basic ration.

Sir A. Knox

Are there any other means by which the men engaged in heavy industry, the steel industry in general, can claim extra coupons above the ten?

Mr. Dalton

Yes, Sir, there are three tiers in the matter—first of all, the basic ration, then the industrial supplement to the great majority of industrial workers, and then in addition, there are coupon pools, which are issued to certain special categories of heavy workers. These are distributed in each works by the works committees, and the iron and steel industry is one of the industries so included.

Mr. Thorne

Who distributes these extra coupons? Is it the employer, the foreman or the manager of the works?

Mr. Dalton

It is the works committee, constituted under an agreement between employers and workers in each works.