§ Mr. W. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the profits made by the Trinidad oil companies during the war, there has been any effective increase in wages.
§ Mr. George HallBasic wages in the Trinidad oil industry were fixed by an agreement between the employers and the Oilfield Workers' Trade Union which was signed in February, 1940, to cover the period of the war and six months2278W thereafter. This agreement also provided for the payment of war bonus to meet increases in cost of living; and in July, 1945, when the Governor last reported, a war bonus of 8½ cents an hour was being paid. The agreement was then still in force, but negotiations for its revision, with a view to an increase in basic wages, were in progress.