§ Mr. C. DUNCANasked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that a claim for increased wages has been submitted to the Admiralty by the Workers' Union on behalf of their members employed in His Majesty's dockyards; whether, owing to the refusal of the Admiralty to submit the points in difference to arbitration, he is aware that the executive committee of the Workers' Union has had to sanction their members presenting notices to cease work; and whether, having regard to the general policy of the Government since the beginning of the War in advising workpeople and employers to have their differences in the wages claim settled by arbitration, steps will be taken to carry out the same policy in respect to the existing wages claim of the members of the Workers' Union employed in His Majesty's dockyards?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe answers to the first two parts of the question are in the 55W affirmative. As regards the last part of the question, it is not the desire of the Admiralty to refuse arbitration when general differences arise between them and their employés as to their conditions of service, but before arbitration can be agreed to in any particular instance, it is necessary to establish the fact that the persons applying for arbitration are entitled to represent the classes of employés whom they claim to represent. The delay in agreeing to arbitration in the particular cases referred to in my hon. Friend's question is due to the fact that it is doubtful whether the Workers' Union can claim to represent the employéson whose behalf they have put forward the claims, other bodies having claimed to represent the same classes. Steps are being taken to clear up this question of representation, and there will be no delay in submitting the claims to arbitration once the question of representations has been satisfactorily settled.