HC Deb 29 March 1926 vol 193 c1667W
Mr. WALLHEAD

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received a report from the Immigration Agent-General of British Guiana with regard to wages and conditions of work on the sugar plantations of that Colony; and, if so, will he inform the House what are the present average weekly wages of Indian immigrants in that Colony as compared with the cost of living?

Mr. AMERY

The latest report of the Immigration Agent-General of British Guiana which I have received is for the year 1924. According to this report the average daily earnings of a shovelman and a male weeder on a sugar estate were 51 cents and 44 cents, respectively, as compared with a cost of living, including food, clothing and implements, of $2.23 a week, or the equivalent of five days' earnings at 45 cents a day. Most of the labourers supplement their earnings by work on their own plots.