§ Mr. Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the number of skilled and semi-skilled European workers employed in the Copperbelt area of Northern Rhodesia for the years 1950–1956, respectively; and the proportion of European to African workers for the years 1950 and 1956, respectively.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boydpursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 19th February, 1957; Vol. 565, 57–58] supplied the following further information
Average number of European employees in service with the copper mining companies in Northern Rhodesia in each year: Skilled Semi-skilled 1950 … … 1,060 1,917 1951 … … 1,235 2,118 1952 … … 1,319 2,215 1953 … … 1,433 2,363 1954 … … 1,519 2,556 1955 … … 1,574 2,635 1956 … … 1,621 2,822 "Skilled" workers are defined as those who have undergone a recognised period of apprenticeship. All other Europeans are classed as "semi-skilled" although many work in a supervisory capacity or are highly proficient through years of experience.
The above figures relate to daily paid workers only, since salaried staff are not normally assessed in terms of "skill".
The figures do not include Europeans employed in industries other than mining, in respect of whom such details are not available.