10. Mr. Philips Priceasked the Minister of Labour whether he will arrange that the same conditions of calling up for National Service shall apply to workers for agricultural contractors as apply to agricultural workers.
§ Sir W. MoncktonNo, Sir. The deferment arrangements are based on the contribution made by the particular worker to the production of food at an individual farm, and it would be impossible to apply this principle to men working for agricultural contractors.
Mr. PriceWill the Minister bear in mind that contractors' labourers, although they are not actually permanent farm workers, are doing extremely important work and that there are cases, some of them in my constituency, in which difficulties have been caused in the middle of haymaking by the fact that they have been called up?
§ Sir W. MoncktonI am always anxious to do what I can to assist in this matter, but agricultural contractors cannot be fitted into this deferment arrangement, much as I regret it.