§ Mr. LIVINGSTONEasked the Minister of Labour whether he will give figures for the latest convenient period showing real wages in the principal
Index Numbers of comparative real Wages in various Cities at 1st July,1927. (Base: London, 1st July, 1927 = 100) City. Index Numbers based on Quantities of Food Consumption in General average Index Numbers based on food only. General average Index Numbers with allowance for rent. Belgium and France. Central European Countries. Great Britain. Southern European Countries. Scandinavian Countries. Oversea Countries. London 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Amsterdam 89 85 82 87 95 88 87 87 Berlin 61 70 64 65 76 70 67 62 Brussels 49 44 46 47 53 48 48 52 Copenhagen 95 103 103 102 126 110 106 106 Dublin 98 102 105 99 103 103 102 110 Lisbon 32 32 30 30 29 31 31 — Lodz 37 44 37 39 51 44 42 44 Madrid 55 55 51 54 54 54 54 — Milan 49 62 48 52 54 43 52 53 Ottawa 147 156 157 148 170 163 156 154 Paris 55 53 49 52 60 52 53 — Philadelphia 169 166 181 175 197 188 178 178 Prague 45 44 44 47 48 47 46 49 Riga 43 54 45 45 53 50 48 51 Rome* 44 45 38 44 48 43 43 45 Stockholm† 87 86 91 88 106 101 92 90 Tallinn 41 51 39 42 54 48 46 47 Vienna 35 42 38 38 48 43 41 46 Warsaw‡ 34 40 32 35 43 39 37 38 *The figures for Lisbon and Rome are relatively low. This may be accounted for in part by the differences in the items of food consumption in the Southern European countries from those ordinarily consumed in most of the other countries included in the table. † The figures are based on wages in the building, furniture-making and printing industries only For other cities the metal industry is also included. ‡Based on a weighted average wage. For other cities an unweighted average has been used. It is explained in the "International Labour Review" that the figures are subject to important reservations. In particular the wage and price data for the different cities used as basis for the comparisons are not strictly comparable. Also in the case of certain cities in Southern European countries, the relatively low index numbers of real wages may be accounted for in part by differences in the items of food consumption in such countries as compared with those ordinarily consumed in most
1818Wcities of Europe based on United Kingdom dietaries and dietaries of the respective countries, respectively?
§ Mr. BETTERTONThe following table, extracted from the "International Labour Review" for October, gives the latest figures compiled by the International Labour Office relating to 1st July, 1927:
of the other countries included in the table. The budgets used in the comparisons do not make adequate allowance for the vegetable consumption in Southern European countries.
Further, the index numbers do not show differences in the general level of real wages, even in the cities included, being based on the wages of a few categories of workers in four industries only and on the prices of a limited number of articles of food. In the 1819W second series of general averages given in the table (last column) an allowance is made for rent, but no account is taken of expenditure on furniture, clothing and other items of ordinary consumption. The index numbers, which are not representative of the relation between the general levels of real wages in the capital cities, are still less representative of differences in the levels of real wages in the respective countries. They may serve, however, rough indication of the relative levels of real wages of adult male workers in certain occupations and cities in different countries.