Mr. HOPE SIMPSONasked the Minister of Agriculture (1) in how many cases during the current year agreements as to minimum rates of agricultural wages arrived at by county concilation committees have been registered; and of these registered agreements how many are now in force?
(2), in how many counties conciliation committees have agreed upon minimum rates of agricultural wages for the month 1811W of December; what those minimum rates of wages are; the term for which the agreed minimum rates are to prevail in each case;
(3), in how many counties conciliation committees have failed to come to any agreement in respect of minimum rates of agricultural wages for the month of December; and what minimum wages are actually being paid to agricultural labourers in those counties?
§ Sir R. SANDERSSeven agreements for minimum rates for agricultural
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CONCILIATION COMMITTEES IN AGRICULTURE. 1. Agreements Covering December. Number of Conciliation Committee areas … 18 Number of separate Counties wholly or partially covered by these areas … 19 Conciliation Committee areas. Rate (for ordinary adult male workers). Period. Cheshire *32s. for 54 hours 24th Oct., 1922–30th April, 1923. Cornwall 30s. for 52 hours 23rd Oct., 1922–31st Dec, 1922. Cumberland and Westmorland. 30s. for 48 hours in winter and 54 in summer. 11th Nov., 1922–19th May, 1923. Derbyshire 7d. per hour 1st Oct., 1922–31st Dec, 1922. Devonshire 30s. for 50 hours 30th Oct., 1922–25th March, 1923. Durham 35s. for 50 hours 13th May, 1922, until such time as either side of Conciliation Committee gives notice of revision. Lancashire— Southern Area †37s. 6d. for 60 hours 1st Oct., 1922–31st Dec, 1922. Eastern Area †40s. for 60 hours 1st Oct., 1922–30th April, 1923. Northern Area †37s. 6d. for 60 hours 1st Oct., 1922–31st Jan., 1923. Loughborough (Leics.) 30s. for 52 hours 4th Nov., 1922, until a fortnight after proposal to cancel is given by either side of the Conciliation Committee. Middlesex South 7½d. per hour for a guaranteed week of 48 hours. 2nd Oct., 1922–28th Sept., 1923. Northumberland— North 32s. for a week of 48 hours in winter and 50 in summer. 12th May, 1922–11th May, 1923. South 32s. for a week of 48 hours in winter and 50 in summer. 13th May, 1922–12th May, 1923. Nottinghamshire 30s. for a week of 52 hours. 1st Oct., 1922–28th Feb., 1923. Shropshire 7d. per hour for a guaranteed week of 48 hours. 1st Nov., 1922–24th Feb., 1923. Yorkshire, East Riding 30s. per week. 28th Oct., 1922–29th Dec, 1922. Anglesey 28s. for a week of 58 hours. 13th Nov., 1922–13th May, 1923. Cardigan 30s. for a week of 50 hours 13th Nov., 1922–13th Nov., 1923. Carnarvon 30s. for a week 50 hours 13th Nov., 1922–13th May, 1923. Denbigh and Flint 27s. for a week 50 hours 1st Nov., 1922–30th April, 1923. * Not agreed by representatives of National Union of Agricultural Workers. † These rates apply to teamsmen and stockmen only. wages, submitted by four different conciliation committees, have been registered by the Minister of Agriculture under the terms of the Corn Production Acts (Repeal) Act during the current year; none of these agreements are now in force.
The following statement gives particulars of the minimum rates of wages for December in the areas where conciliation committees have reached agreements covering that month, and of the minimum rates of wages, based on such information as is available, in the areas where no agreements exist at the moment:
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II.—Conciliation Committee Areas where no Agreements are in Operation. Number of Conciliation Committee areas 43 Number of separate counties wholly or partially covered by these areas 36 1814W
Conciliation Committee Areas. Minimum Cash Wages(for ordinary Adult Male Workers). s. d. Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire 25 0 Berkshire, North 27 0 Berkshire, South and East 27 0 Buckinghamshire 27 0 Cambridgeshire 0 6 per hour. Dorset 27 0 Ely, Isle of 0 6 per hour. Essex 0 6½ per hour. Gloucestershire 25 0 Hampshire 0 6½ per hour. Herefordshire 27 0 Hertfordshire 0 6½ per hour. Kent 27 0 Leicestershire— Ashby Bosworth, Hinckley and Atherstone 31 6 Leicester 30 0 Market Harborough and Lutterworth 28 0 Melton Mowbray and Belvoir 30 0 Lincolnshire— Holland 0 7 per hour. Kesteven and Lindsey 0 6½ per hour. Middlesex, North 0 7½ per hour. Norfolk 0 6 per hour. Northamptonshire 28 0 Oxfordshire 25 0 Peterborough, Soke of 28 0 Rutland 27 0 Somerset 30 0 Staffordshire 30 0 Suffolk 0 6 per hour. Surrey 29 2 Sussex— East 27 0 West 27 0 Warwickshire 25 0 Wight, Isle of 27 0 Wiltshire 27 0
Conciliation Committee Areas. Minimum Cash Wages (for ordinary Adult Male Workers). s. d. Worcestershire 0 6½ per hour. Yorkshire— North Riding 30 0 West Riding 30 0 Brecon and Radnor 30 0 Carmarthen 30 0 Glamorgan 33 0 Merioneth and Montgomery 32 0 Monmouth 30 0 Pembroke 28 0