§ 70. Mr. H, A. Priceasked the Minister of Labour what has been the percentage increase in the incomes of industrial workers during the last five years for which statistics are available; what has been the percentage increase in the cost of living during the same period; to what extent the former is responsible for the latter; and by what percentage the cost of living during that period would have risen had the incomes of industrial workers risen by the same percentage.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodStatistics relating to total incomes of industrial workers are not available, but inquiries relating to average weekly earnings of manual wage earners in manufacturing industries generally and a number of the principal non-manufacturing industries showed a rise of 45 per cent. between April, 1951, and April, 1956. The Index of Retail Prices rose by 30 per cent. during this period. I am unable to say how much of this rise in prices could be attributed to the rise in earnings or what the average rise in prices would have been if the earnings of these manual workers had risen by only 30 per cent.