HC Deb 09 July 1952 vol 503 cc1311-2
43. Mr. Awbery

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the detrimental effects that the fluctuation in the price of rubber has upon the smallholders and the wages of the plantation workers, and that it is creating both economic and political instability; and what action he is taking to prevent wages falling below a reasonable subsistence level.

Mr. Lyttelton

Yes, Sir, I am aware of the implications of the recent fall in the price of rubber. Fresh negotiations on wages were opened in June but have been temporarily suspended. Compromise proposals advanced by the Commissioner of Labour are now being considered by both sides, who are, I am confident, approaching the problem with a full sense of their joint responsibilities both to the industry and to the workers.

Mr. Awbery

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the industrial agreement for the rubber workers ceases to operate when the price of rubber drops below one dollar, and that it is at that figure at the present moment and as a consequence the standard of living is likely to fall very low indeed for these men? Will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to introduce legislation fixing the minimum rate below which the rubber workers' wages will not fall in Malaya?

Mr. Lyttelton

These matters must be left to local negotiations. As I understand it, the present scale is there until new arrangements have been made.

Mr. J. Griffiths

Will the right hon. Gentleman consult with the High Commissioner as to the practicability of providing some scheme to secure the stabilisation of wages in Malaya, for any drop in wages now will have political repercussions?

Mr. Lyttelton

This is one of the matters which I discussed at great length with the High Commissioner when he was here.

Mr. G. Longden

Will my right hon. Friend agree that while in the long run we cannot take more out of a pot than we put into it, as is now being shown in the, tea industry in Sumatra, in the present circumstances which obtain in Malaya would it not seem to be an unpropitious moment for lowering wages?