§ 77. Mr. McAdamasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what are the standard rates of wages paid to miners and surface workers; and the rates paid during the comparable period following the 1914–18 war.
§ Mr. GaitskellStandard rates of wages in the coalmining industry vary from district to district and also according to occupation, and the best basis for comparison is provided by the average weekly cash earnings of all wage-earners. In the third quarter of 1947, the average weekly earnings (excluding the value of allowances in kind) of all wage-earners in the industry was £6 5s. 10d. The corresponding figures for the third quarters of 1920 and 1922 (that is, before and after the termination of Government control) were £4 9s. 7d. and £ 2 5s. 3d. respectively. Information about the earnings of surface workers only is not available for 1920 and 1922. The average earnings of these workers in the third quarter of 1947 was £4 19s. 5d.