§ Bill read 3a.
§
Amendment moved—
In Clause 3, page 1, line 14, after 'employment' to insert' Borough Councils shall not require that persons employed in the management of these bureaux, or persons seeking employment through the said bureaux, shall be members of a trade union.' "—(The Earl of Wemyss.)
§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHI am afraid that trade unions have a rather irritating effect upon my noble friend. I can assure him that, so far as this Bill is concerned, if such a restriction as he wishes to guard against were placed on the action of the bureaux, they would have nobody or very few people to deal with at all. The bureaux will chiefly deal with people who do not belong to trades unions, and in my judgment the Amendment is absolutely superfluous and unnecessary.
§ THE EARL OF WEMYSSI understood you were going to accept it.
§ LORD TWEEDMOUTHI look upon the words contained in the Amendment as pure surplusage, but if the Government have no objection to the Amendment, personally I do not mind its insertion.
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF TRADE (The Earl of DUDLEY)Lord Kenyon, who represents the Local Government Board in this House, is unable to be present to-day, and I have been asked to express the hope that is entertained by that Department that the noble Lord opposite will not accept the Amendment. I agree with what the noble Lord has said, that if these bureaux are used at all they will be used by men who are not 97 connected with trade unions, for trade unions have their own means of information. The labouring men who use bureaux of this kind are of the casual class, and it is, therefore, inconceivable that any Borough Council would impose a restriction of the kind contemplated by the noble Lord. With regard to the men employed to carry on and I supervise the bureaux, I am informed that the Amendment would be perfectly ineffectual, because it is obvious that if a majority of a Borough Council desire to appoint as manager of a bureau a trade unionist, they can do so perfectly well without openly requiring him to be anything at all. I agree with my noble friend opposite that it is not wise to restrict the discretion of Borough Councils in this matter, and I think we might with perfect safety leave the matter in their hands.
§ THE EARL OF WEMYSSAfter what has been said I will not press my Amendment, which, I may say, I brought forward in the interests of the majority of working men. To every working man who belongs to a trade union there are nine who do not belong to any union at all. If the influence of trade unions upon Borough Councils should be such as I fear it may be, the adoption of the Amendment would prevent what would then be an admitted evil.
§ Amendment, by leave of the House, withdrawn.
§ Bill passed.