35. Mr. Me Adamasked the Minister of War Transport what steps he proposes to take to reduce the excessive hours worked by trainmen on the four main line companies' systems, having in mind the fact that for the week beginning 12.1 a.m. on Monday, 7th January, and ending 12.0 midnight on Saturday, 12th January, 16,347 drivers and 11,837 goods guards worked more than 10 hours, and 156,361 drivers and 83,280 goods guards worked over eight hours and up to 10 hours.
§ Mr. BarnesThe number of instances when the hours of duty of drivers and goods guards exceeded eight but not 10 during the week in question were in fact 92,838 and 32,094 respectively. A great deal of this overtime was incurred while travelling home as passengers, booking on duty, examining notices and preparing engines. With the increasing inflow of men from the Forces, I hope that it will be possible to reduce the amount of overtime worked by railwaymen.