§ 32. Colonel J. R. H. Hutchisonasked the Minister of Labour how many ex-Servicemen have been trained for house building trades at the Labour Training Centre at Granton in Scotland; and how many have been absorbed into the building industry or ancillary trades.
§ Mr. IsaacsFour hundred and ninety-nine ex-Servicemen have been trained for the building trades at the Granton Centre, and 265 have been placed in employment. Action to place the remainder is in hand.
§ Colonel HutchisonHas the Minister's attention been drawn to the case of 30 trainees at this establishment at Granton who, after a course of training, could not find a job at all? Is there not a shortage of manpower for house building?
§ Mr. IsaacsMy attention has not been drawn especially to that case, and if the hon. and gallant Gentleman will give me particulars, I will look into it. Very often the problem is that labour is available but not required in that immediate area at the moment, but if we move it away, we find the men have to be brought back. The training covers all the industries, and, therefore, while we may be placing work for builders and carpenters, painters and plasterers have to wait a little time before we place them.
§ Colonel HutchisonCan the right hon. Gentleman say what sort of period elapses on the average before the men are absorbed in the way he has described?
§ Mr. IsaacsI will admit that what I am saying is plainly a guess, but, as a rule, the men are placed in employment very quickly after they come out of the training centres.
§ Mr. DraysonCan the Minister give an assurance that when ex-Servicemen have completed training at labour centres, they are accepted into the appropriate trade union without any reservation?
§ Mr. IsaacsI would like to answer that by putting it the other way round, and to say that, if the hon. Member has any instance where it has not happened, I will be glad to look into it. My information is that they are welcomed in before they leave the training centres.