§ Mr. CROOKSasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions the reason for the non-payment of time worked, namely, the 20 minutes tea interval, from the 4th August, 1914, till the 30th October, 1916, to the whole of the employés in the Army Ordnance Department, Woolwich Dockyard, comprising one-third of the employés at Woolwich, whilst the other two-thirds, forming the Arsenal section, were paid; and whether he will have this matter reconsidered with a view to payment of the arrears due?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONI have been asked to reply. Payment for the tea interval was a concession. After careful consideration of all the circumstances and of the decision of the Court of Arbitration in a similar case, I am not prepared to give it the retrospective effect suggested.