15,767. Do you cure by contract?-Yes, as well as by wage.
15,768. How many people are employed in your curing establishment during the season?-I cannot say, because some go on for a week or two, and others go on at the end of that time; but we will have as high as forty and as low as twenty people who are not off work.
15,769. How are these people paid?-They are paid weekly by a daily wage on Saturday night.
15,770. Do they receive payment of their whole wages in cash?- Every penny.
15,771. Are they paid in cash even if they have had out-takes during the week?-They have no out-takes; we don't give them.
15,772. Is yours the only establishment in Shetland, so far as you know, where that is the practice?-So far as I know, I believe it is; but I am not certain. The only other one where I thought it was done was Leask's; but I happened to be present last day when Mr. Robertson was examined, and I heard him say that they did give credit, which I did not know before.
15,773. Has it been long the practice in your establishment not to give credit to your weekly workers?-It has been the practice for about five years.
15,774. Have you found it to facilitate your transactions very much?-Yes; and it was for that reason we gave up the practice of giving credit. When we first commenced to cure at Bressay, we paid by weekly wages; but the people usually wanted some advances before the Saturday night, and we found in a short time that we were losing money by bad debts while a great deal of time was involved in settling with them on the Saturdays. In fact it took up so much time, and caused so much trouble, that we stopped it altogether.
15,775. How did the bad debts occur?-The girls wanted to take up clothing, and on Saturday night they required food for another week, and we found they took up too much.
15,776. Have you found that the people are now contented with the system which you have introduced?-They are quite contented.