asked the Minister for Finance if he will state in regard to the counties of (a) Leix, and (b) Offaly: (1) the number of turf workers employed during the week ended May 2nd, 1942; (2) the number of turf workers on strike during the week in question; (3) the wages and conditions of employment effective in respect of turf workers; (4) the action he has taken to secure a settlement of the strike and, further, whether he will state if he is prepared to instruct the county surveyors concerned (1) to increase the rates of wages payable to turf workers; and, if so, to what extent, and (2) to arrange for the weekly payment of wages.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment of Turf Workers.
The answer to the first question is: Leix—142; Offaly—309. The answer to the second question is: Leix—370; Offaly—130. The answer to the third question is: sleansmen, barrowmen, and labourers, in Leix, for a 54-hour week: 45/-, 38/3, and 33/9 respectively; sleansmen, barrowmen, and labourers, in Offaly, for a 54-hour week: 45/-, 36/- and 36/- respectively. The answer to the fourth question is: No special action has been taken in relation to these counties.
The Government decision, in relation to the wages of turf workers in 1942, was intimated to all county councils and county surveyors on the 9th May as follows:—
The question of wages to be paid to workers employed by county councils on turf production has been under consideration, and it has been decided that in any county in which the scale is at present lower, the rate of wages as from the beginning of the next pay week may, if the county council so desire, be increased to 8¼d. per hour, or 33/- for a 48-hour week, with 10d. for each hour in excess of 48.
The same rates may also be paid during the period of turf-cutting to county council employees engaged on turf development works, but the increases do not apply to other classes of workers in the employment of the county councils.
It should be pointed out that in many counties in which the existing rate of wages is quoted as a weekly figure, it refers to a working week of 54 hours, and not 48. The rate now approved of represents 38/- per week for a 54-hour week.
As regards the payment of wages weekly, I would refer the Deputy to my replies to his question on the 30th April, 1942.
Will the Parliamentary Secretary issue an instruction in connection with the request for the weekly payment of wages? Is he aware, for instance, that in some of the biggest commercial concerns in the country the pay-sheets for up to 1,000 workers can be made out by a junior clerk in two days? Surely it is possible in existing circumstances for lowly-paid wage earners like turf workers to get their wages paid weekly? I would appeal to the Parliamentary Secretary to try to arrange accordingly.
I have already told the Deputy on a previous occasion that I am considering it. Theoretically, I believe that this thing is wrong, but, in practice, apparently the amount of hardship that is caused is relatively small. In the various cases in which I have made an attempt to find an alternative way in order to meet the difficulty on employment schemes, it was quite clear that no one was anxious to take advantage of it. That is a fact. Now, the actual position is that the people who decide when these wages will be paid are the county councils. They have the power to do it. Up to the present, in spite of representations of various kinds, they have not been prepared to do it, and I have no power to tell them to do it. That is the actual position. The Deputy may take it that the matter is being carefully considered in order to see whether a reasonable solution can be found.