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June, 1942. the MINISTRY of LABOUR GAZETTE •'•it THE MINISTRY OF 'V a I i LABOUR GAZETTE ctiv, I [P r i c e S i x p e n c e N e t . ^ERS. VoL. L .—^No. 6.] JUNE. 1942. : the ,^ '^ IK S PRINCIPAL CONTENTS. PAGE ® matters PAGE . 125 or in. Employment Overseas EmplojTnent, Wages, Cost of Living and Trade . 125 ? ^>041 Disputes in M a y ................................................................ 117 Fatal Industrial Accidents . 125 Special Articles, Revie^vs, etc. Industrial Diseases . .. ‘ ‘ . Average Weekly Earnings of Workpeople in the Principal Changes in Rates of Wages and Hours of Labour in 1 1 8 126 parcitased Industries at January, 1942 M ay ■ ■ . ' ‘ Hours of Work and Man-Power........................ .. 121 Changes in Retail Prices and Cost of Living 129 -• th'ise in Control and Organisation of the Coal Industry ; Govern­ 130 122 Trade Disputes in May ment Proposals R etail P rices O verseas ........................................ 131 Wages in the Coal-Mining Industry ; Appointment of Legal Cases Affecting Labour 131 a Board of Investigation 122 <i* :Xo, 2i Labour Shortage in Cotton Spinning Mills 122 Industrial Courts Act, 1919, and Conciliation Act, by the Conditions of Employment in the Distributive Trades : 1896 e Defence ■WTiolesale Grocery and Provision Trade (England Industrial Court Awards • » •• ..131 and Wales) .. ............... 123 Single Arbitrators and ad hoc Boards of Arbitration 131 123 Scotland! Control and Organisation of Dock Labour Court of Inquiry .. • - • • • • .. 131 I 1942. Regional Organisation of Production ; Report of the Conditions of Employment and National Arbitration Eld u n d e r Committee on Regional Boards 123 Orders, 1940 and 1941 :— Hours of Women and Young Persons : Extension of are and National Arbitration Tribunal Awards .. .. 131 General Emergency Order for Cotton Spinning or National Arbitration Tribunal (Northern Ireland) Doubling 123 Awards .. .. • ft • • • • .. 131 a^ement) Fatal Accidents at Mines and Quarries in 1941 123 4Z made Factory Ventilation in the “ Black-Out" 123 Trade Boards Acts :— ice under • • 132 illations, Employment in May :— Confirming Orders ft * General Summary 124 Superannuation Schemes (War Service) Act .. 132 124 Unemployment Chart 132 6A, 27A, Composition of Unemployment Statistics 125 Statutory Rules and Orders Schedule id adding 3d. 4d.) 1‘efence EMPLOYMENT, WAGES, COST OF LIVING, AND TRADE Id. '2d.) MAY )aal Fire E m p l o y m e n t a n d U nemployment . in the rest of Derbyshire. Nottinghamshire and Cannock Chase, through the operation of sliding-scale agreements under which ;i .K^n- The number of men and boys registered at Employment u!*, t bv the wage rates fluctuate in correspondence with the proceeds of the Exchanges in Great Britain as wholly unemployed at 11th May, industry. Increases in wage rates were also granted in the road- idef the 1942 (exclusive of men numbering 25,628 who had been classified 3 Geo. 5. stone quarrying industry, in the linen industry in^ Northern by interviewing panels as unsuitable for ordinary industrial Ireland, in ready-made and wholesale bespoke tailoring, in emplojTnent) was 65,771, showing a decrease of 3,772 as com­ retail food and milk distribution, in the rubber industry, and pared with the corresponding total for 13th April. Those er, for manual workers in the employment of local authorities ; [ Labour registered as on' short time or otherwise temporarily suspended and there was an increase in the war risk money payable to \ of the from work on the understanding that they were shortly to return to their former employment numbered 2,599 ; this was officers and men in the merchant navy. On the other hand, .) a decrease of 682 as compared with 13th April. Those registered there were slight reductions in the rates of wages of workpeople as unemployed casual workers (beipg persons who normally employed in the iron and steel industry, and in tobacco manu­ facture, under the operation of cost-of-living sliding scales. seek their livelihood by jobs of short duration) numbered 2,951, sho^ving a decrease of 774 as compared with 13th April. The corresponding figures for women and girls at 11th May, C o s t o f L i v i n g . 1942, were 43,192 wholly unemployed (exclusive of those, At 1st June the official cost-of-living index figure was 99 per numbering 1,505, who had been classified by inte^vie^^ing panels cent, above the level of July. 1914. as compared with 100 per as unsuitable for normal full-time employment), 3,190 tempo­ cent, at 1st May. For food alone, the index figure at 1st June rarily stopped, and 281 unemployed casual workers. Of the was 59 per cent, above the level of July. 1914, as compared with 43,192 wholly unemployed. 1,896 had been classified as unable 60 per cent, at 1st May. for good cause to transfer to another area. As compared with A e decline in the index figures was due to reductions in the 13th April, the numbers wholly unemployed showed a decrease prices of milk in many districts. There was little change, on of 4.313, those temporarily stopped showed a decrease of 10, average, in the prices of other items covered by the statistics. and unemployed casual workers showed an increase of 36. T r a d e D i s p u t e s . / W a g e s . In the industries for which statistics are regularly compiled The number of trade disputes involving stoppages of work, by the Department, the changes in rates of wages reported to reported to the Department as beginning in May, was 174. have come into operation during May resulted in an aggregate I n addition. 5 disputes which began before May were still in increase estimated at about £225,000 in the weekly full-time progress at the beginning of that month. The approximate wages of about 630,000 workpeople, and in a decrease estimated number of workpeople involved in these 179 disputes (including at £6,500 in those of about 280,000 workpeople. workpeople thrown out of work at the establishments where In the coal mining industry, rates of wages were increased in the disputes occurred) was 94.000, and the aggregate duration South Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire, and reduced of the disputes in May was about 306,000 working days. r ' 118 THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR GAZETTE. June, 1942. : I ( AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WORKPEOPLE INDUSTRIES AT JANUARY, 1942. I n January last an enquiry was made by the Ministry of Labour satisfactoty b^ is for statistics of average earnings in the indi- and National Service in order to obtain particulars of the average vidual industries, the general averages shown for the 16 groups weekly earnings of workpeople employed in manufacturing industries generally, and in some of the principal non-manufac­ t industries combined are to some turing industries, in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The proportions in the returns received. Fo^ enquiry was made on lines corresponding with those of a previous e^m ple, returns were received from a much higher proportiok enquiry relating to July, 1941, the results of which were pub­ engineering industry than in the building lished. together with some comparative figures for October, 1938, in the issues of this G a ze t t e for November and December, heavy weight, while the building industry h^ less than its 1941.* appropriate weight, in the calculations on which the foregoing In the enquiry of January, 1942, forms were sent to all averages are based. In order to eliminate the effects of such employers who had supplied information both in October, 1938, disparities, the averages for each of the 16 groups of industries and July, 1941, and to a number of establishments {mainly in and the general averages for all the industries combined have the engineering and allied industries) which had not been in been re-calculated on the basis of the estimated total numbers of operation at those dates, f asking for particulars of the total wap-eamers employed* in the individual industries [a\ in number of wage-earners employed in the last pay-week of MImvfL T M January, 1942, and are given in the January, 1942, and of the aggregate earnings of those wage- lollowmg Table. Corresponding averages for July, 1940 and earners in that week. The form also asked that separate ^olT’ G azette for March. particulars should be supplied, if possible, of the numbers of 1941, and December. 1941. respectively. men (21 years of age and over), youths_and boys (under 21 years), paper. I women (18 years and over), and girls (under 18 years), and of Average Earnings, in the last pay-week of October. 1938 and of etc-'- January, \9A2. calculated on the basis of the total numbers employed the total earnings of each of these groups. As in the case of the jliscelW enquiries made in October, 1938, and July, 1941, the figures __ in each industry. given were to include all the wage-earners at work in the specified Tr»»s? week, other than office staffs, shop assistants, and ourivorkers Youths ) (ett» Industry Group. Men and Boys Public® working at home on materials supplied by the employer. Fore­ Women Girls AU >1 (21 years (under (18 years (under Workers. Gov*« and over). 21 years). attbl men, transport workers, warehousemen, etc., were to be included, and over). 18 years) P but managers, commercial travellers, clerks and typists, and Average Eamiitgs in the 1iast pay-w< « k of A salaried persons generally were to be excluded. In cases W ere 0 ctober, I9Jid. the works were stopped, as the result of a general or local holiday, I s. d. s. d. • I s.
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