§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. Isaacs)I desire to make the following statement to the House: At eight o'clock this morning the manual workers at Brims-down Power Station came out on strike without notice and in breach of contract, and later today the manual workers at Taylors Lane and Littlebrook Stations similarly came out on strike. These strikes are unofficial. It is unnecessary to emphasise the detrimental effect of this action on the public welfare. The Government have decided that in order to maintain essential supplies, Service men should be used to keep the power stations going. We are confident the House will concur in this action which is designed to protect an essential public service.
§ Mr. StanleyI can only say, on behalf of my hon. Friends and myself, that we entirely support the very rapid action which the Minister has taken to ensure essential services to the public. We hope that he will keep the House in touch with the developments and also that the men who have struck unofficially will see reason and return to work.
§ Mr. GallacherIn view of the suddenness with which this has come upon us, could not the Minister tell us what the strike is about, or what attempts, if any, have been made to bring about an immediate settlement? Is it not most undesirable that whenever there are strikes nowadays, the first action is to call in the Army? That is an undesirable thing from the point of view of the working-class movement.
§ Sir I. FraserMay we be told where the places are?
§ Mr. IsaacsThey are in the region of London—Brimsdown, Taylors Lane and Littlebrook.