§ Sir B. PETOasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the state of employment in the fabric glove industry since the withdrawal of the Safeguarding Duty; and, in view of the fact that workers in some factories are only employed on short time one week in three and that the scale of wages is reduced by 10 per cent. from the scale paid before the withdrawal of the duty, whether the Government will consider what steps can be taken to relieve the consequent distress?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMThe information as to employment in the manufacture of fabric gloves, formerly supplied to my Department by the Joint Industrial Council, has not been furnished for the period subsequent to the lapse of the
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§ Mr. SHAWThe following table shows the strength on 1st May, 1931, of infantry battalions of the Territorial Army raised in Lancashire, together with the surplus or deficiency on establishment.
duty, and I understand that the Ministry of Labour statistics of unemployment do not separately distinguish the fabric glove industry. I am informed, however, that there has been no recent variation in the rates of wages in the industry.