§ BARON HENRY DE WORMSasked the Postmaster General, Whether it is not the fact that the established letter carriers in Woolwich originally entered the service as suburban letter carriers under the Metropolitan Suburban Distinct, and that they have since been classed as Provincial Letter Carriers, with the effect that their clothing allowances have been reduced; whether their duties are not of the same nature as those of the letter carriers in Blackheath and Greenwich, who receive higher pay; whether, under these circumstances, steps will be taken for restoring to the Woolwich letter carriers the rights they enjoyed when they entered the service, and for placing them in the same position as regards emoluments as the Blackheath and Greenwich letter carriers; and, whether the Treasury have yet arrived at any decision on the question of the emoluments of the letter carriers generally?
§ MR. FAWCETTSir, it is a fact that certain of the letter carriers at Woolwich originally entered the Service as suburban letter carriers in the Metropolitan district; that they are now classed as Provincial letter carriers, though on the same scale of wages as previously; and that a portion of their uniform used to be renewed somewhat more frequently than it is now. I will consider whether, as regards the men who entered the Service prior to the transfer of Woolwich to the Provincial district, the old arrangements for the supply of uniforms should not be reverted to. I do not consider that the circumstances would justify the adoption of an equally high rate of wages for the letter carriers at Woolwich as at Blackheath and Greenwich. The latter part of my hon. Friend's Question has already been answered by the Secretary to the Treasury.