HC Deb 04 April 1921 vol 140 cc34-5W
Mr. REMER

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the large number of foreign waiters employed at the Midland Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool; whether this hotel is the property of the Midland Railway Company; whether this company has a guarantee as to the profits made by them; whether they have signed the roll of honour for the employment of disabled men; whether the company are employing their full quota of disabled and ex-service men; and whether he is prepared to take steps to bring pressure to bear upon this railway company to see that they displace foreign waiters and employ ex-service men?

Dr. MACNAMARA

I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport that the Midland Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool is the property of the Midland Railway Company, and that it comes within the scope of the agreements between the Government and the railway companies regarding guaranteed profits. Negotiations with the railway companies as a whole have been in progress for some time past, with a view to securing their adoption of the National Scheme for the Employment of Disabled Ex-Service Men—so far without success. But I still hope it may be found possible to place the companies collectively, if not individually, on the Roll. As regards the employment of foreign waiters at hotels, I venture to express the hope strongly that hotel proprietors will follow the example of many public-spirited employers who give preference in employment to ex-service men on all work for which they are suitable.