§ 47. Mr. Robensasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster the position up to date of the growth of free trade unions in Germany.
§ The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. John Hynd)Trade union development in Germany is based upon principles approved by the Allied Control Council. The position in the British zone was broadly indicated in the reply I gave on 7th March to my hon. friend, the Member for Bedford (Mr. SkeffingtonLodge). On 12th and 13th March the first zonal conference of trade union representatives was held in Hanover. It was decided to establish four provincial organising committees and one zonal organising committee to handle the various 1645 questions arising from the numerous unions now emerging. In the Russian zone, there is a single union—The Free German Trade Union—with a membership of over two million. In the American zone there are over 200 trade unions with more than 450,000 subscribing members. In the time available I have not been able to obtain recent figures for the French zone.
§ Sir T. MooreWill the Minister encourage the growth of free trade unions in this country, too?