no
they were called reserved occupations
and this is the type of question we paid the politicians to ask in 1940 c Hansard
RESERVED OCCUPATIONS (NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY).HC Deb 01 February 1940 vol 356 cc1294-5W 1294W
§ Mr. Isaacs asked the Minister of Labour whether the Schedule of Reserved Occupations for the printing, publishing, and bookbinding industry includes, and applies to, the newspaper industry; is the term "warehouse" held to cover the staffs in the publishing and despatch departments of newspaper firms; whether the occupation of electrotyper and stereotyper is held to be included and covered by the words "All other workers"; and whether any such workers are covered if employed in a firm that specialises in stereotyping and electrotyping but is not engaged in printing?
§ Mr. E. Brown The reservation applicable to workers following the occupations listed in the Schedule of Reserved Occupations under the heading "Printing, Publishing and Bookbinding" applies to workers in these occupations who are employed in the newspaper industry. Regarding the second part of the Question, 1295W warehousemen, who are responsible for the receipt and despatch of the publications of newspaper firms and for the maintenance of records, are reserved under the heading "Warehouseman" on page 41 of the schedule. Packers, etc., employed by newspaper firms are not reserved under the schedule. As regards the third and fourth parts of the Question, the occupations of electrotyper and stereotyper are covered by the heading "All other workers," whether or not the employers of the workpeople concerned are actually engaged in printing; for the sake of greater clarity, it is intended to include these occupations specifically in any further print of the schedule.