HC Deb 27 June 1969 vol 785 c317W
Mr. R. W. Brown

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she is now able to make a statement about the results of her investigation into the pay of homeworkers in the hat trade in the Luton area.

Mr. Harold Walker

In the course of their special investigation following the publication of Report No. 110 by the N.B.P.I., wages inspectors examined the records of eighty-three homeworkers employed by seven firms in the Luton area, and sixty-three of these workers were visited at home. In no case was infringement of the regulations on pay revealed, but four cases were encountered where, because of disability, lack of proper training or inexperience, the homeworkers were unable to earn amounts which would be paid to workers with average output. The survey does not provide any evidence of exploitation among such workers.