§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures showing the most recent wage rates paid in each of the industries governed by wages councils.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThe following table lists the current statutory minimum wage rates published by the wages councils. The figures quoted are those for the lowest grade of adult worker employed in main provincial areas for a normal working week.
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Wages council Statutory minimum rates of wages £ Aerated Water (England and Wales) 48.00 Aerated Waters (Scotland) 48.00 Boot and Shoe Repairing 51.00 Button Manufacturing 46.00 Coffin Furniture and Cerement Making 46.40 Corset 49.62 Cotton Waste, Reclamation 46.40 Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (England and Wales) 49.70 Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (Scotland) 47.30 Flax and Hemp 45.73 Fur 27.50
General Waste Materials Reclamation 43.20 Hairdressing Undertakings 31.00 Hat, Cap and Millinary 49.60 Lace Finishing 46.40 Laundry 51.00 Licensed Non-Residential Establishment 50.00 Licensed Residential Establishment and licensed Restaurant 41.20 Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods 48.00 Made-up Textiles 45.00 Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower 45.00 Perambulator and Invalid Carriage 52.50 Pin, Hook and Eye, and Snap Fastener 52.50 Ready-made and Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring 49.62 Retail Bespoke Tailoring 48.90 * Retail Food and Allied Trades 51.20 to 51.50 * Retail Trades Non-Food 52.00 to 52.10 Rope, Twine and Net 41.50 Rubber Proofed Garment Making Industry 49.61 Sack and Bag 50.00 Shirtmaking 49.62 Toy Manufacturing 49.00 Unlicensed Place of Refreshment 43.04 Wholesale Mantle and Costume 49.62 * Rate varies according to sector of retail trades.
§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many small business men have been appointed to wages councils since 1 May 1979.
§ Mr. Jim LesterRepresentative members are appointed to wages councils by organisations nominated by the Secretary of State. He is not necessarily informed of their business interests, but 20 of 60 appointments of employers' representatives since 1 May 1979 appear to be small business men.
§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table of figures showing the number of visits made to business premises by officers of the wages councils now operating in the last year for which figures are available and the number of offences detected by the wages councils in each industry.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThe information given below relates to visits made in 1979 by wages inspectors of my Department to check compliance with wages orders. A number of advisory visits were also made but records of these are not held centrally.
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Infractions concerning Wages Council Establishments Visited underpayments of wages and/or holiday pay posting of notices wages records time records failure to allow holidays Aerated Waters (England and Wales) 36 4 5 — 3 2 Aerated Waters (Scotland) 4 1 — — — — Boot and Shoe Repairing 143 15 33 10 63 3 Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery Trade (England and Wales) 1,255 474 330 90 489 64 Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery Trade (Scotland) 148 48 31 3 66 — Button Manufacturing 21 2 4 — — 1 Coffin Furniture and Cerement Making 6 2 — — — — Corset 31 — 5 — 4 — Cotton Waste 10 1 1 — 1 — Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (England and Wales) 657 183 195 48 236 13 Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing (Scotland) 45 14 10 1 14 — Flax and Hemp 3 — — — — — Fur 30 3 8 3 14 1 General Waste Materials Reclamation 200 18 29 1 54 5 Hairdressing Undertakings 4,698 987 752 465 2,496 56 Hat, Cap and Millinery 14 4 — 1 2 — Lace Finishing 14 6 — 1 1 — Laundry 101 25 30 2 16 1 Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods 35 3 3 — 6 — Made-up Textiles 30 7 8 — 2 — Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower 10 2 3 1 3 —
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Infractions concerning Wages Council Establishments Visited underpayments of wages and/or holiday pay posting of notices wages records time records failure to allow holidays Perambulator and Invalid Carriage 6 2 1 — 1 — Pin, Hook and Eye and Snap Fastener 1 — — — — — Ready-made and Wholesale Bespoke Tailoring 224 47 45 8 68 4 Retail Bespoke Tailoring 68 8 14 4 33 2 Rope, Twine and Net 22 3 4 — 1 — Rubber Proofed Garment Making Industry 4 1 1 — 2 — Sack and Bag 22 1 2 — 1 — Shirtmaking 59 11 9 1 8 — Toy Manufacturing 50 16 12 2 14 1 Wholesale Mantle and Costume 125 40 27 7 34 4 Retail Bookselling and Stationery Trades 562 204 150 36 200 36 Retail Drapery, Outfitting and Footwear Trades 4,411 1,413 1,006 398 2,061 187 Retail Furnishing and Allied Trades 3,375 1,118 754 185 1,483 158 Retail Food Trades (England and Wales) 4,579 1,814 1,260 746 2,355 259 Retail Food Trades (Scotland) 576 287 184 78 357 13 Retail Newsagency, Tobacco and Confectionery Trades (England and Wales) 2,690 1,156 740 492 1,385 208 Retail Newsagency, Tobacco and Confectionery Trades (Scotland) 307 140 113 43 194 7 Licensed Non-Residential Establishment 5,899 1,201 1,443 869 2,584 82 Licensed Residential Establishment and Licensed Restaurant 2,801 1,193 835 309 1,480 57 Unlicensed Place of Refreshment 1,535 516 508 254 809 41
§ Mr. Brightasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table showing the expenditure incurred by each of the wage councils now operating in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Jim LesterThis information is not available in the form requested. The total expenses of all wages councils, including their secretariat, for 1979–80 is estimated at £280,000 for 1979–80.