§ Mr. WHITEasked the Minister of Labour what is the latest information in her possession as to comparative real 45W wages in the following countries: Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Spain and Portugal?
Country. Date. Towns Covered. Index Numbers (Great Britain=100).* (i) Based on Standard Time Rates of Wages. Great Britain July, 1930 … London, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle. 100 Australia January, 1930 … Melbourne, Sydney 148 Austria July, 1930 … Vienna, Graz, Linz 48 Belgium January, 1929 … Brussels 50 Canada July, 1930 … Ottawa, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg. 155 France January, 1930 … Paris, Bordeaux, Lyons, Marseilles 58 Germany July, 1930 … Berlin, Breslau, Cologne, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich. 73 Italy July, 1930 … Rome, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Trieste, Turin. 39 Netherlands July, 1930 … The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht. 82 Norway October, 1926 … Oslo 80 Portugal July, 1929 … Lisbon 32 Spain July, 1930 … Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia 40 United States of America. July, 1930 … Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco. 190 (ii) Based on Actual Hourly Earnings.† Czechoslovakia January, 1930 … Prague, Bratislava, Brno 74 Denmark July, 1930 … Copenhagen 113 Sweden July, 1930 … Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo 109 * For Belgium and Norway the figures were based on London = 100. † These three index numbers would have been somewhat lower if the comparison had been made with a figure for Great Britain based on actual earnings instead of on time rates of wages. Note.—The index numbers are calculated by ascertaining the ratio of the average hourly wage of adult male workers in a limited number of occupations to the cost of an international "budget" comprising certain quantities of food, fuel, light and soap, at the average of the prices ruling in the cities covered. (In the case of Belgium and Norway, the "budget" used was confined to food only). Detailed particulars of the method by which the index numbers are computed, and of the qualifications to which the figures are subject, are given in the "International Labour Review" for October, 1930.
§ Mr. O'CONNORasked the Minister of Labour the maximum, minimum, and average rates of wages paid to labourers in the iron and steel, shipbuilding, and coal industries?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI regret that the information in my possession is insufficient to enable me to state the maximum, minimum or average rates of wages paid to labourers in these industries. Such information as is available with regard to the rates of wages fixed by collective agreement, or by other arrangements
46W
§ Mr. LAWSONIndex numbers of comparative real wages, at the latest dates for which such statistics have been compiled by the International Labour Office, are given in the following table. Figures are not available for New Zealand or Switzerland.
recognised by employers and workpeople, for labourers on time-work in these industries is summarised below. I have no particulars of the earnings of pieceworkers.
Iron and Steel Industry.—The recognised time rates for labourers range from 5s. 7d. to 7s. 7d. per shift in different districts, or on different classes of work; in some cases output bonuses are paid in addition.
Shipbuilding.—In federated shipyards the recognised time rate for labourers, 47W on new work, is 41s. per week in the majority of districts; in certain districts it is 39s. or 40s. Higher rates are paid on repair work.
Coal Mining.—The minimum time rates at present recognised range in different districts from 6s. 1½d. to 7s. 11d. a shift for surface labourers and from 6s. 1½d. to 9s. a shift for underground labourers.