§ 5. Mr. Redmayneasked the Minister of Labour if he will introduce legislation amending the Wages Councils Act, 1945, to define statutory minimum remuneration as the minimum sum, however it may be ascertained, received in cash each week by workers who are paid weekly, such sum being subject to deductions lawfully made under that Act.
§ Mr. IsaacsI have recently received a deputation from the Trades Union Congress on this matter, which I am at present considering, but I cannot at this stage make any promise in regard to it.
§ Mr. RedmayneDoes the Minister realise that this applies in particular to the distributive trades paid on a wages and commission basis, and that the wage packets today are often less than the statutory minimum? Should there not be a wage plus a proportion of the estimated commission in order that lower paid workers may receive the statutory minimum every week?
§ Mr. IsaacsThat is the point I am looking into, but at the moment I am not satisfied that they are receiving less than the statutory minimum. Attention has been drawn to some particular difficulties, however, and we are looking into them.