§ Mr. Mainwaringasked the Minister of Labour whether he can provide a list of industries wherein wage agreements or awards with respect to wages exist, ensuring to adult labour rates lower than 40s. per week, together with the number of men and women, respectively, affected in each case?
§ Mr. E. BrownAs the hon. Member will be aware, rates of wages in most industries vary for different classes of workers and in different districts. I regret that the information in my possession is not sufficiently comprehensive to enable me to enumerate the industries, occupations and districts in which the rates of wages fixed by wage agreements awards for adult men and women, respectively, provide a wage of less than 40s. a week. In general, it may be said that for adult men the rates of wages fixed by collective agreements, awards, etc. are rarely below 40s. a week, except in agriculture, and for certain classes of unskilled workers in some of the smaller towns and rural dis- 1139W tricts. For women, the rates of wages of manual workers are mostly below 40s. a week.