§ 82. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons and in what trades are now unemployed in Trinidad; how much of this unemployment it is estimated is due to the cessation of military construction work; and what steps he proposes to take to provide a remedy for it.
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Creech Jones)As regards the number of persons unemployed, I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend, the Member for St. Pancras, South-East (Dr. Jeger), on 5th March. Employment on United States bases in Trinidad has declined from a peak of 26,600 to 5,300 at present, but many of the men no longer employed there have, of course, returned to their previous employment, and there is no basis for estimating how many of them are still unemployed. Measures to counter any tendency to growing unemployment are being considered locally with special reference to the Colony's long term development plan.