A BILL ΤΟ Provide for the Regulation of Wages of Workers AD 1924. in Agriculture, and for purposes incidental thereto. BE E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 5 as follows: 1.-(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the EstablishMinister of Agriculture and Fisheries (in this Act referred ment of to as the Minister) shall, as soon as may be, establish an agricultural agricultural wages committee for each county in England committees 10 and Wales, and an Agricultural Wages Board for England and an and Wales. (2) An agricultural wages committee and the Agricultural Wages Board shall respectively be constituted in accordance with the provisions of the schedule to this 15 Act and shall be established by order made by the Minister. (3) The Minister may, if he thinks it expedient, establish one agricultural wages committee for two or more counties instead of a separate committee for each 20 county, and thereupon that committee shall be the agricultural wages committee for the combined counties and those counties shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be one county. wages Agricultural A.D. 1924. Duties and powers of 2.-(1) Agricultural wages committees subject to confirmation by the Agricultural Wages Board in manner provided by this Act, shall fix minimum rates of agricultural wages for workers employed in agriculture for time work, and may also, if and so far as they think it necessary or 5 expedient, fix minimum rates of wages for workers with respect employed in agriculture for piece work. wages com mittees to minimum rates of wages. (2) Any such minimum rates may be fixed by a committee so as to apply universally to all workers employed in agriculture in the county for which the 10 committee act, or to any special class of workers so employed, or to any special area in the county, or to any special class in a special area, subject in each case to any exceptions which may be made by the committee for employment of any special character, and so as to vary 15 according as the employment is for a day, week, month, or other period, or according to the number of working hours, or the conditions of the employment, or so as to provide for a differential rate in the case of overtime. (3) If, on an application in that behalf, a committee 20 are satisfied that any worker employed or desiring to be employed on time work to which a minimum rate fixed under this Act is applicable is so affected by any physical injury or mental deficiency, or any infirmity due to age or to any other cause, that he is incapable of earning 25 that minimum rate the committee may grant to the worker, a permit exempting, as from the date of the application, or from any later date specified in the permit, the employment of the worker from the provisions of this Act requiring wages to be paid at not less than 30 the minimum rate, subject to such conditions as may be specified in the permit, including if the committee think fit, a condition as to the wages to be paid to the worker; and, while the permit has effect, an employer shall not be liable to any penalty for paying wages to the worker 35 at a rate less than the minimum rate if the conditions specified in the permit are complied with. (4) In fixing minimum rates a committee shall, so far as practicable, secure for able-bodied men such wages as in the opinion of the committee are adequate to 40 promote efficiency and to enable a man in an ordinary case to maintain himself and his family in accordance with such standard of comfort as may be reasonable in relation to the nature of his occupation. (5) A committee may, if they think it expedient, A.D. 1924 and subject to confirmation as aforesaid, cancel or vary any minimum rate fixed under this Act. (6) Before fixing, cancelling or varying any minimum rate, the committee shall give such notice as may be prescribed of the rate which they propose to fix or of their proposal to cancel the rate or of the proposed variation of the rate as the case may be, and of the manner in which and the time within which objections to the proposal may be lodged, not being less than fourteen days from the date of the notice, and shall consider any objections to the proposal which may be lodged within the time mentioned in the notice. Where the proposal is modified in consequence of any objection so lodged, notice of the modified proposal need not be given except where in the opinion of the Agricultural Wages Board the proposal has been altered so materially that a fresh notice ought to be given. mittees. 3. (1) Where a committee have fixed any minimum Confirmarate of wages or have cancelled or varied any such rate, tion of they shall forthwith send in the prescribed manner to rates fixed the Agricultural Wages Board notification thereof, and by comthe notification shall include a statement of any objections received by the committee with respect to the matter and such other particulars as may be prescribed. (2) The Agricultural Wages Board, on receipt of such notification, shall forthwith take the matter into their consideration and shall, as soon as practicable, either make an order confirming the rate or the cancellation or variation, as the case may be, or refer the matter back to the committee for reconsideration. (3) The Board shall, as soon as may be after they have made an order under this section, send notification thereof to the committee concerned, and give notice of the making of the order and the contents thereof in the prescribed manner. (4) Any such minimum rate or the cancellation or variation thereof shall become effective from the date specified in that behalf in the confirming order. The date to be so specified shall be a date subsequent to the date of the order and where, as respects any A.D. 1924. employer who pays wages at intervals not exceeding seven days, the date so specified does not correspond with the beginning of the period for which wages are paid by that employer, the rate, or the cancellation or variation thereof, shall become effective as from the beginning of the next such period following the date specified in the order. Complaints as to payment for piece work where no minimum piece rate has been fixed. 4. Any worker employed in agriculture in any county on piece-work for which no minimum piece rate inadequate has been fixed or any person authorised by such a worker may complain to the agricultural wages committee for the county that the piece rate of wages paid to the worker for that work is such a rate as would yield in the circumstances of the case to an ordinary worker a less amount of wages than the minimum rate for time work applicable in the case of that worker and the committee may on any such complaint direct that the employer shall pay to the worker such additional sum by way of wages for any piece work done by him at that piece rate at any time within fourteen days before the date of complaint or at any time after the date of complaint and before the decision of the committee thereon as in their opinion represents the difference between the amount which would have been paid if the work had been done by an ordinary worker at the minimum rate for time work and the amount actually received by the worker by whom, or on whose behalf, the complaint is made, and any sum so directed to be paid may be recovered by or on behalf of the worker from the employer summarily as a civil debt. Board to request committee to fix, cancel Power of 5. At any time after the expiration of two months Agricultural from the establishment of an agricultural wages committee Wages the Agricultural Wages Board may, by notice in writing, request the committee to fix, cancel or vary any minimum rate which the committee have power under this Act to fix, cancel or vary, and it shall be the duty of the committee to take the request into their consideration and to fix, cancel or vary the rate accordingly and send to the Board a notification thereof within such time as may be specified in the notice, not being less than two months from the receipt of the notice. or vary minimum rates of wages. Power of Agricultural Wages Board to 6. If an agricultural wages committee (a) fail to comply with a notice of the Agricultural Wages Board under this Act requesting the |