§ 10. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will consult with the Government of Northern Rhodesia regarding the desirability of a Commission upon the franchise for Africans in this territory.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave the hon. Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Fenner Brockway) on 23rd November. I have still nothing to add to my predecessor's statement of 11th February, 1954.
§ 20. Mr. J. Hyndasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will take steps to ensure that whenever special statutory commissions or committees of inquiry are appointed to examine conditions of employment in Central Africa, provision will be made for the representation on such bodies of the African workers.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWhenever any such bodies are appointed in Northern Rhodesia or Nyasaland, I have no doubt that the Governor concerned would give this matter very careful and sympathetic consideration.
§ 26. Mr. J. Hyndasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will repeal existing discriminatory sections of the Railway Act, 1949, in Northern 174W Rhodesia and Nyasaland so as to enable all trades unions, irrespective of colour, to function as statutory unions.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe Northern Rhodesia Railway Ordinance, 1949, to which I presume the hon. Member refers, provides that in addition to the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the Rhodesia Railway Workers' Union, which are automatically registered, an additional union known as the "statutory union" may be registered to represent African employees who do not belong to either of the other registered unions. No African union has yet applied for statutory recognition; but in Northern Rhodesia the railway management in practice has negotiated with the Northern Rhodesian African Railway Workers' Union through a joint industrial committee. This arrangement has proved satisfactory.
§ 66. Sir L. Plummerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why the trade union and Trade Disputes (Amendment) Ordinance has been introduced in the Legislature of the North Rhodesian Government; how far the African and European trade unions were consulted prior to its introduction; and, in view of the restrictions of the rights of the trades unions and their members which the amended Ordinance would impose, if he will recommend the Governor not to sanction the Measure.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydNo Bill has been introduced. A draft Bill has been circulated to the unions and is still under discussion. The last part of the Question, therefore, does not arise.
§ 72. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of the disquiet of Africans in Nyasaland about the standard of secondary education for Africans in the Protectorate, particularly the high percentage of failures in standard VI examinations; and what steps he proposes taking to remedy this.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI am well aware of the great interest which many Africans in Nyasaland show in educational matters. The standard VI examination is taken from the primary schools, not the secondary schools. The percentage of successes in this examination cannot yet be regarded 175W as satisfactory, and therefore the Nyasaland Government is arranging to consolidate existing primary schools and improve the qualifications and numbers of teachers. The percentage of successes in examinations taken at secondary school level is a good deal higher, but secondary education is also being expanded and improved.