MR, P. O'BRIEN (Monaghan, N.)asked the Postmaster General, What is the limit of age for the admission of pensioners from other Services under the Crown, military or police, to be enrolled in the Service of the Post Office, and to what positions are they generally appointed, and also at what age is the compulsory retirement of such persons enforced; whether, on entering the Post Office Service, pensioners are called upon to sign a contract form in which they declare their age, and waive all claim to compensation or a pension for Service in the Post Office, and by whom is such contract form retained; whether periodical examinations of these contract forms are made with the object of calling upon such pensioners as may have reached the maximum limit of age to resign; and, whether it is usual for pensioners in the Service of the Post Office to hold dual positions and to discharge the duties of one by proxy?
§ THE POSTMASTER GENERAL (Mr. RAIKES) (Cambridge University)There are two classes of Service in the Post Office which should be kept distinctly in view—the Established Service and the Unestablished Service. Established Service carries a right to pension; admission is by examination; a maximum age is prescribed; and a Civil Service certificate is necessary under the provisions of the Order in Council. Unestablished Service is free from any such restrictions, and candidates may, therefore, accept employment at any age and without examination; but the employment carries with it no pension. A pensioner who wishes to become an established country postman, porter, or lineman has the advantage of an addition of 15 years to the prescribed limit of 30. A pensioner who happens to obtain an established appointment, accompanied by a Civil Service certificate, is eligible for a pension on account of his service in the Post Office. If he is a candidate for an unestablished situation he is required to sign before his engage- 937 ment a printed paper, the object of which is to make him clearly understand the nature of the engagement which he is making. In neither case is there any compulsory retirement on the ground of ago. Pensioners employed at the Post Office do not perform their duties there by proxy.