§ 18. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Labour how many workers' wages are based upon the cost-of-living index; and in how many cases have wage reductions been enforced as a result of the Treasury calculation that prices have recently fallen.
§ Mr. IsaacsIt is estimated that rather more than one and a half million workpeople are covered by collective agreements providing for the adjustment of wage rates in correspondence with movements in the Interim Index of Retail Prices. The great majority of these are in the building, civil engineering construction, iron and steel, boot and shoe, and hosiery industries.
The decrease on one point in the Interim Index on Retail Prices between 18th July and 15th August resulted in reductions in the wage rates of about 350,000 workpeople employed in the iron and steel, iron mining, boot and shoe, carpet, limestone quarrying in certain districts, textile making-up and packing at Manchester and cinematograph film production industries.