Mr. TYSON WILSONasked the Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the high cost of living and the high house rents at Kew, and the rate of wages paid by employers of labour and public bodies in that district, the Treasury will refer the question of the wages of the permanent employés at the Royal Gardens, Kew, to the Fair Wages Advisory Commitee?
§ Mr. HOBHOUSEIf the hon. Member will specify the class of employer to whom he refers I will further consider the question.
Mr. TYSON WILSONasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture, whether, in view of the fact that the gardeners at the Royal Gardens, Kew, are only paid a subsistence allowance, he will explain why those men are kept employed at manual labour, many of them in the tropical section, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer months?
§ Sir E. STRACHEYThe hours of duty prescribed for the gardeners at Kew are as follows:—Summer (seven months) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with intervals of three-quarters of an hour for breakfast and of one hour for dinner. Winter (five months) from 8 a.m. to dark, with an interval of one hour for dinner. The weekly average for the year is 52¾ hours. The question was fully considered quite recently, and it was decided that no reduction of the hours could be authorised.