asked the Minister for Defence whether any arrangements have been made for the absorption into civilian employment of persons demobilised from the Army during the past 18 months; and if so, whether he will indicate the arrangements so made.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Employment of Ex-Army Men.
The reply is in a rather lengthy form and, with the permission of the Deputy and also the permission of the Chair, I propose to have it circulated in the Official Report. Following is the reply:
The answer to the first part of the question is yes, provided that the persons were members of the Defence Forces before the period of general demobilisation began, i.e., before 11th May, 1945.
The arrangements to facilitate the absorption of these men into employment were outlined in the White Paper on Demobilisation and Resettlement of Members of the Defence Forces published on the 11th May, 1945, and may be summarised as follows:-
(1) Special competitions confined to persons who served in the Defence Forces during the emergency are held from time to time by the Civil Service Commissioners for various posts in the Civil Service. Age concessions are granted in open written competitions for Civil Service and local authority posts.
(2) Concessions in the form of age deductions and extra marks are granted to ex-Army candidates for professional, technical or similar posts which are filled by selection board procedure in the Civil Service or under local authorities.
(3) In the filling of subordinate posts in Government Departments (such as labourers, messengers, firelighters, temporary and part-time postmen, etc.) every consideration is given to applicants with Army service.
(4) Local authorities have been requested to grant preferences to the fullest extent possible in respect of Army service in connection with local appointments other than those filled by examination or selection board procedure.
(5) Semi-State bodies and public utility companies in response to requests have undertaken to give preference in employment where possible to demobilised members of the Defence Forces.
(6) Various appeals have been and are being made to employers to give preference in employment to demobilised ex-servicemen. A special register of a large number of employers who are willing to accord this preference is maintained by the Department of Social Welfare and special arrangements have been made to deal with the applications from registered employers who require the services of ex-Army men.
(7) A special register of unemployed demobilised men is maintained in the Department of Social Welfare and every effort is made to aid the man so registered to obtain employment. In this connection an industrial history card giving full particulars of the Army service and other qualifications of the ex-serviceman is transmitted to that Department by the Army authorities.
(8) The Defence Forces Acts provide for the reinstatement of persons who were in employment when they enlisted in the Defence Forces for the duration of the emergency or when, as members of the reserve, they were called out on permanent service. They must be reinstated if reasonably practicable in an occupation and under conditions not less favourable than those which would have been applicable if they had not enlisted or been called out on permanent service.
(9) A special section in the Department of Defence advises ex-servicemen as to the facilities obtainable and endeavours to assist them in every way practicable.
(10) The Minister for Industry and Commerce is prepared to grant facilities necessary under Emergency Powers Orders to enable demobilised men to trade in, or to obtain controlled commodities for the purpose of setting up in business.
(11) Finally, gratuities were provided on as generous a scale as possible to assist ex-members of the Defence Forces who served during the emergency in resettlement in civilian life.
I take it that the reply covers the main question. May I ask a supplementary question without having seen the reply? Bearing in mind the fact that there is still a large number of ex-service men unemployed and that whatever schemes the Minister had in mind have clearly failed to absorb large numbers of those unemployed, will the Minister say whether his Department has under consideration any proposals for an extension of the scheme of rehabilitation in civilian employment of the large number of ex-service men who are at present unable to obtain employment?
There is a special section of the Department continually working on the question of re-establishing ex-service personnel and these exertions will be continued.
Is the Minister aware of the measure of co-operation that that section of his Department is getting through some of his colleagues, notably the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and the Minister for Industry and Commerce?
They are getting reasonably good support.
I wish to God I could see some trace of it.