Mr. DUNCANasked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a number of girls employed at an aircraft factory have been dismissed for attending a trade union meeting; whether he is aware that a number of other girls have been taken in couples into the lady supervisor's office, asked if they had attended a trade union meeting, and informed that if they had they would be dismissed; whether he is aware that Commander Dyett has definitely refused to meet the representatives of the girls, whose sole object was to allay friction; whether he is aware that unrest is rampant throughout the works owing to the treatment, and especially' of the grounds of such treatment, meted out to these girl workers; and whether steps will be taken promptly to remedy this grievance?
§ Dr. ADDISONMy hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. I am aware that five women have recently been dismissed from the aircraft factory to which the hon. Member refers, and that a number of women employés have been questioned by a forewoman as to whether they are members of a trade union. The manager of the firm emphatically denies that the five women in question were dismissed because they were members of a trade union, or that he has ever raised any objection to the employment of persons on the ground that they were trade unionists. The manager also states that he has always been willing to meet representatives of the women. If the girls are dissatisfied, adequate remedies are provided under the Munitions Acts.