§ Mr. SCOTTasked the Minister of Labour whether the Government have ratified the minimum wage-fixing machinery convention of the League of Nations; if not, whether it proposes to do so; whether this House will be consulted on the matter before ratification; whether, as a result of such ratification, it is intended to fix minimum rates in this country on an equal basis for both men and women; and whether, if this implication is not clear, the Government will propose to submit the interpretation of the convention on this point for the decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice
§ Miss BONDFIELDThis convention was ratified on 14th June, 1929, in accordance with the proposals laid before the House in Command Paper 3337. Each State that ratifies it remains free to determine for itself both the nature of the wage-fixing machinery to be set up and the minimum rates to be fixed for workers of both sexes. In this country the obligations under the convention are met by the Trade Boards Acts. The convention contains no obligation to fix minimum rates on an equal basis for men and women.