HC Deb 01 March 1948 vol 448 cc5-6W
52. Sir G. Fox

asked the Minister of Agriculture why farmers in Oxfordshire have to pay £5 3s. 9d. per week for a Polish worker and only £4 10s. for a British farmworker.

Mr. T. Williams

The charges made to farmers for workers hired from agricultural executive committees, which are the same for foreign as for British workers, cover, in addition to wages for actual time worked, employers' contributions for National Insurance and something towards other unavoidable costs, such as wages paid during holidays and temporary sickness. These additional costs are, of course, also incurred by farmers in respect of workers whom they themselves employ.