§ 2. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that catering trade employees, being unable to obtain employment through the employment exchanges, are compelled to pay high fees to private employment agencies to obtain work; and why, when private agencies are able to find employment, his Department is not able to do so.
§ Mr. IsaacsMy hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. The employment exchanges find employment for many thousands of persons in the hotel and catering trades and have a large number of vacancies on their books.
§ Mr. LewisIs the Minister aware that I can give him many instances where catering workers who have gone to the Denmark Street exchange could not find employment, but on paying a fee to a private agency have been placed in a job immediately?
§ Mr. IsaacsI should be glad to have any such particulars, because according to my information, in the three months 1385 ending 7th August, we placed no fewer than 17,896 in the catering trades, and at that time we had vacancies for 15,007.
§ Mr. LewisIs it the policy of the Government to tell the employers to find labour through the Ministry's exchanges rather than through private ones?
§ Mr. IsaacsThat is another question.
§ 3. Mr. A. Lewisasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the malpractices adopted by many of the catering trade employment agencies; what steps he is taking to prevent these malpractices; and whether he will consider appointing a committee of inquiry to consider the abolition of these catering trade agencies.
§ Mr. IsaacsThe Catering Wages Commission have announced their intention of undertaking an inquiry under Section 2 of the Catering Wages Act, 1943, into the organisation and work of employment agencies serving the catering industry and have invited observations from interested organisations and persons. I must await the results of this inquiry before considering whether any action is required.