§ Commander BELLAIRSasked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the latest figure of the membership of trade unions as compared with the official figure of 8,493,000 at the end of 1920?
§ Sir M. BARLOWAt the end of 1921, the latest date for which complete figures2620W are available, the total membership of British and Irish trade unions, as shown by the annual statistics of the Ministry of Labour, was approximately 6,793,000, as compared with 8,493,000 at the end of 1920. These figures include members of overseas branches of certain unions (numbering about 71,000 at the end of 1921), and also an unascertained, but relatively small, number of persons who are members of more than one union, and are counted more than once in the totals. Detailed figures for males and females for each of 36 groups of unions were published in the "Ministry of Labour Gazette" for September last, a copy of which is being sent to the hon. and gallant Member.