§ LORD STRABOLGI had the following Notice on the Paper: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered opening certain coal pits now idle in order that they may be worked by prisoners of war with mining experience under the control of British officials; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, the question which stands in my name deals with a quite narrow point which is, of course, separate from the much larger subject which is to be introduced by my noble friend Lord Addison in the near future. I have consulted certain of the leaders of the miners on this matter, and they inform me, with regard to the employment of prisoners of war underground, that British miners would object to prisoners working side by side with them because of the possibility of sabotage or treachery. On the other hand, there are a certain number of mines which are equipped and ready to be worked but which are idle through lack of labour, and the suggestion is made—and it has the approval of these miners' leaders with whom I have consulted—that these pits should be opened for work by prisoners of war with mining experience (of whom I imagine there must be a good many) under the direction of British officials. I presume that the Government have considered this, and I think it would be 345 interesting for your Lordships if we could be informed of their judgment upon the matter. I might add that it has been reported in the newspapers—I believe correctly—that British prisoners of war in Germany have been put to work in German coal mines and also in salt mines. I beg to move.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA AND BURMA (THE EARL OF MUNSTER)My Lords, the question of employing prisoners of war in British coal mines has already received the full consideration of my right honourable friend. He has examined the proposal from two aspects— first, the manning of pits now idle, which is the subject of the main part of the noble Lord's question, and, secondly, the possibility of supplementing the labour force of pits now in production by the use of prisoners of war. I think it is probably within the knowledge of most of your Lordships that there are relatively few German prisoners of war, other than those who are technical personnel, in this country who could be employed in coal mines. Consequently, any prisoners of war who might be employed in this type of work could only be drawn from among the Italian prisoners of war who are now already generally occupied in work of national importance.
I have been advised by my right honourable friend that there are, in fact, no deep coal mines in Italy, and, therefore, that there is a lack of the requisite mining knowledge and experience amongst Italian prisoners of war. It would, therefore, I think, be impossible to employ them in reopened pits, except as unskilled workmen, which, in itself, would involve withdrawing from existing working pits skilled British face workers, who are, as your Lordships know, already in short supply. It will be seen, therefore, that only skilled miners with the appropriate balance between the various classes of work could provide the complete man-power necessary for manning coal mines which are now closed.
In addition, there are other considerations to be taken into account, and quite apart from security objections, there remains the important question, the vital question, of safety in coal mines. I have no doubt that the British miners would have strong objections on that score alone, if on no other, to the employment of 346 foreigners underground, who were unable to understand the English language. It must also be remembered that even if Italians were able to perform useful service on the surface there is already an adequate number of surface workers available in this country, and, as there would have to be close supervision by experienced British miners, it might conceivably lower rather than increase production. It is, I think, clear—I hope I have made it clear to the noble Lord—that the work of national importance which Italian prisoners of war are now performing is more suitable than coal-mining for which they have had little experience. For these reasons my right honourable friend has decided not to press for the employment of Italian prisoners of war in the coal industry. Nevertheless, there is a chance that Italians might be able to do valuable work in relation to the increase of coal production, and the possibility of employing these men in open cast production, at briquetting plants, in the gas industry and the coal distributing trade, is now under careful consideration by my right honourable friend.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Earl for his very interesting reply. I hope that we shall succeed in capturing a good many Germans in the near future much nearer home than before, and that they will include a large number of miners whom we can use in the way that I suggest. I beg leave to withdraw my Motion.
§ Motion for Papers, by leave, withdrawn.