HC Deb 04 March 1959 vol 601 c419
16. Miss Vickers

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the reason why dental surgery assistants have been recently classified and paid as unskilled workers in Her Majesty's Naval Barracks and the Royal Naval Hospital, Devonport.

Mr. T. G. D. Galbraith

A mistake was made over the payment of a recent wage increase to some of our dental surgery assistants. The amount involved was 8d. per week. The mistake is being corrected, with full payment of arrears. Dental surgery assistants in the Royal Naval Hospitals were not affected.

Miss Vickers

While thanking my hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask whether this means that they will now be semiskilled and not unskilled workers, because it makes a lot of difference to their establishment in the future?

Mr. Galbraith

Yes, they are semiskilled workers.