Colonel COLLINSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that a certain limited number of National Service 1659W shipyard volunteers are now working in shipyards on the Clyde; is he aware that many of these men are physically unfit, and many after a few days are sent back to their former employment; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. Of necessity those men who are unskilled labourers are men unfit for military service. A certain number of the men who were sent to the shipyards for employment have been returned to their homes, as they have been found to be medically unfit for such labour. Arrangements have now been made, however, for all applicants to be medically examined before being enrolled, and should any man be found unfit for hard manual labour his services are not accepted.
Colonel COLLINSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that skilled rivetters on the Clyde over thirty years of age have been ordered to report for Army medical examination at Stirling or Perth; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter?
§ Dr. MACNAMARASo far as I know, there is no foundation for the suggestion in the question. But I will make further inquiry.
Colonel COLLINSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that National Service shipyard volunteers receive, in addition to their pay, a lodging allowance of 17s. 6d. per week; is he aware that this extra grant is causing unrest; and what steps he proposes to take in the matter.
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe practice of paying a subsistence allowance of 17s. 6d. per week in the case of a volunteer worker having to keep two homes was initiated for the War Munition Volunteer and approved of by the Federation of Trades Unions. The payment of this allowance to volunteers who have to maintain two homes—and it is only paid in such cases— is, it is considered, not unreasonable.