§ Viscount CURZONasked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that an employer has been fined under the Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act for employing disabled ex-service men at wages above the trades union district rate; and whether His Majesty's Government will consider the necessity for amending the Act as requisite in order to prevent such an injustice to those who have served their country.
Sir B. H ORNEThe Act referred to was passed in fulfilment of pledges given by successive Ministers to the trade unions, who, at the request of the Government, gave up certain of their restrictive rules during the War. Under these circumstances it is impossible for the Government to propose any amendment of the Statute, especially as the penal provisions of the Act, generally speaking, will not in practice be operative after October next. It is hoped that in the, meantime the trade unions of the country will not take up a similar attitude to that described in the question with regard to men who have been disabled in the country's service.