9 8

THE  HOUSING  QUESTION

Ministry  that  they  should  enforce  their  own  clause
in  the  contract,  which  laid  down  that  the  workmen
should  be  paid  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  standard
building-trade  wages  in  the  district.  The  fact  that
these  men  were  being  paid  much  less  than  the  standard
rates  could  not  be  disputed,  nor  could  it  be  disputed
that  the  builder  was  making  a  great  deal  more  profit
(all  out  of  the  pocket  of  the  taxpayer)  than  his  contract
and  its  schedule  entitled  him  to.
In  spite  of  repeated  representations,  the  Ministry
have  refused  to  interfere  and  have  allowed,  firstly,  the
workmen  to  be  paid  all  the  time  a  sweated  wage,
directly  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  contract,  and,
secondly,  have  allowed  this  builder  to  obtain  from  the
Treasury  a  sum  far  in  excess  of  that  to  which  he  was
entitled  under  his  contract.
This  scandalous  case  is  typical  of  the  attitude  of
the  officials  of  the  Ministries  of  Health  and  of  Labour
during  the  last  three  years  towards  working  men.
There  is  a  Government  Committee,  known  as  the
Building  Labour  Committee,  composed  principally  of
representatives  of  these  Ministries.  This  Committee
adjudicates  on  claims  by  local  operatives  to  obtain
standard  rates  of  wages,  which  of  course  vary  from
district  to  district.
The  decisions  of  the  Building  Labour  Committee
have  been  all  along  unfavourable  to  the  claims  of
working  men.  Even  in  cases  where  an  Award  by
the  Local  Conciliation  Board  has  gone  in  favour  of  the
men,  the  Ministry  of  Health  have  refused  to  be  bound