Mr. T. WILSONasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether in setting up the Agricultural Wages Board and the district wages committees under the Corn Production Act, he is aware that a number of organisations which are purely friendly societies for health insurance purposes have been requested to nominate representatives of workers in agriculture; whether he is aware that the Agricultural Labourers' Union is practically the only organisation in England whose function it is to improve and safeguard the economic interests of the workers in agriculture; and whether he will arrange that only organisations established for this purpose shall be allowed facilities to nominate representatives on the Wages Board and the district wages committees?
§ Sir R. WINFREYThe hon. Member may not be aware that in selecting the sixteen representatives of agricultural workers for the Agricultural Wages Board, Mr. Prothero invited the Agricultural Labourers' Union to elect six members and the Workers' Union two. These organisations cannot at present claim to represent more than a comparatively small proportion of the agricultural workers of the country, and a fully representative Board could hardly be constituted on their nomination alone. Mr. Prothero will be very glad to receive suggestions of the names of suitable representatives of workers on the district wages committees, either from the unions or from any of their branches, but he cannot undertake to pass1394W over suggestions from other questers if he is satisfied that the persons suggested possess the confidence of the labourers in their districts. I may add that friendly societies in rural districts consist very largely of agricultural labourers, and are, therefore, well qualified to suggest suitable representatives.