§ Mr. Burdenasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies in which Colonies have the provisions of minimum wages legislation been put into operation; and whether, in view of the low wages earned by the great mass of colonial workers, action in this direction will be speeded up?
§ Colonel StanleyWith regard to the first part of the Question, I would invite the hon. Member's attention to the information given in the recently published Colonial Office report, "Labour Supervision in the Colonial Empire, 1937–1943," of which I am sending him a copy. With regard to the second part, as stated in the report, it is the accepted policy to encourage the effecting of wage adjustments by means of collective bargaining and any domestic machinery for this purpose which may exist, and only to have recourse to the powers conferred by minimum wage legislation when negotiation has failed. I am, however, satisfied that the Colonial Governments concerned are fully alive to the necessity of making minimum wage-fixing orders under the legislation when circumstances show that such action is desirable.