§ Mr. SEDDONasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to a decision of Mr. Horace Smith adverse to the claim of a Miss Darwent for the return of 3s. 3d. deducted from her wages of 7s, by the proprietors of Mellin's Food, in fines for unpunctuality during a single week; and whether, in view of the provisions of the Truck Act, steps will be taken to appeal against the magistrate's decision?
§ Mr. GLADSTONEYes, my attention has been called to this case. The proceedings were civil proceedings instituted by the worker herself for the recovery of wages, and were not taken by the Department under the Truck Act. I have no 509W power, therefore, to take any steps to appeal against the magistrate's decision; and after the magistrate's decision in the civil proceedings, it would have been inadvisable to raise the same question on a prosecution. I may add that I am informed that the amount deducted in this case represented time lost by the worker over a period of five weeks, and not a single week.