§ 101. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which of the Phillips Report recommendations on labour unrest in Mombasa, 1945, have been accepted and operated by the Government of Kenya; on what dates; and which recommendations have been accepted in principle but not applied.
Mr. Creech JonesThe Phillips Report comprises interim recommendations dated 5th June, 1945, and second interior recommendations and a final report dated 25th June, 1945. The first interim recommendation was for an increase of 5s. per month gross wage, exclusive of housing, for Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours employees. This was adopted by the railways and by Government with retrospective effect from 1st April, 1945, and was also accepted by all the major employers of Mombasa Island. The second interim recommendation was for permanent machinery for assessment and constant review of cost of living of African workers. This was accepted in principle, but attempts to establish effective machinery proved impossible owing to the lack of reliable data and the difficulty of securing properly qualified staff to provide it. Information is, however, now being collected by an expert who has recently arrived in Mombasa.
The recommendations in the main report, which may be grouped under five heads, include:
1.—(a) A Social Survey; this has been accepted in principle but not carried out owing to lack of qualified investigators and the fact that it is awaiting the result of a pilot survey of the conditions of railway workers, which is at present being conducted by a Research Team working under the aegis of the Colonial Social Science Research Council and is to be used as a basis for guidance in ensuing surveys;
323W(b) A Cost of Living Committee which has been accepted in principle but not yet implemented owing to the lack of reliable data and qualified staff hitherto available.
(c) A Minimum Wages Board which was accepted in principle but only recently implemented for the same reason; and a special investigation of wage paying capacity in relation to National Income now being carried out by a Committee under the Economic and Commercial Adviser.
2.—(a) A recommendation that there should be a marriage allowance and increment scheme has not yet been accepted in principle but is being investigated by the research team referred to above and by the expert now carrying out his survey in Mombasa. It will be brought to the notice, of the newly appointed Central Minimum Wage Advisory Board.
(b) The proposal that there should be fortnightly advances of pay was accepted in principle and implemented late in 1945, without much success owing to unpopularity among Africans themselves.
(c) The provision of a house allowance was also accepted and implemented in 1945 when a survey was carried out. A further survey made in February, 1947, indicated that the cost of a room was between 8s. and 10s. a month and allowance is now established at 8sh. 25 cents a month.
3.—(a) The proposal that a rationing scheme for foodstuffs and consumer goods should be introduced was not accepted by the Government, and alternative action was taken to strengthen price control and establish approved shops.
(b) The provision of firewood is being effected by the establishment of two fuel depots where fuel is obtainable in sufficient quantities at controlled prices.
(c) No definite recommendation was made about water supplies, but the number of water kiosks is being increased and the hours during which they are open to the public extended.
(d) Communal feeding for children is being applied by the free issue of milk daily to 240 infants, and during term time to 944 school children at a total cost of £1,500 per annum.
4. The recommendations regarding the provision of minimum additional accommodation are being met by the provision 324W of housing estates by Municipal and Railway authorities and by private enterprise. So far 4,683 Africans have been housed and plans for accommodating 8,540 more have been approved in principle.
5. The recommendation that labour officers should be appointed to the Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours Administration has been met by the appointment of a fulltime labour officer in the port area and the railway has appointed an officer with trades union experience as staff and welfare assistant. The recommendation regarding casual labour has also been accepted in principle and considerable progress made. By agreement with the railway and stevedoring companies, the one existing pool is being increased from 900 to 1350 and arrangements made to place 600 daily paid stevedores on a guaranteed minimum monthly retainer not less than the legal minimum wage.
I regret that the exact dates on which the recommendations referred to above were first implemented are not available to me.