§ Mr. ANDERSONasked the Minister of Munitions whether his attention has been directed to the case of a woman brought 229W before the Birmingham Munitions Tribunal on 24th October, charged with being absent for half a day on 8th October; whether he is aware that the woman declared in evidence that she had to attend to a sick husband and children, and that the chairman, Professor Tillyard, declared he would make an allowance on account of her husband's circumstances, and only fine her 10s. instead of 20s.; whether, in another case, a defendant, a soldier's wife, who took some time off on account of her children, was also fined 10s.; whether he can state the amount of weekly wages earned by these women; and whether it was the intention at the time of the passing of the Munitions of War Act that Clause 14 should be rigorously enforced irrespective of family or individual circumstances?
Mr. PRIMROSEI have made inquiry in regard to these two cases. In each the woman was charged with being a persistent bad time-keeper. In the first case, the firm had allowed the woman not to come to her work till 9 a.m. in consideration of her husband's illness, thus reducing her weekly hours to forty-five. She had, however, lost eight and a half, eight and a quarter, and thirteen and three-quarters hours respectively during three of the four weeks preceding the date of the complaint. In the second case, the woman had worked forty-five, thirty-six and three-quarters, forty-five, thirty-six and three-quarters hours out of a possible fifty-four during the four preceding weeks. I am informed that both women had the opportunity of earning about thirty shillings in the week of fifty-four hours.