EARL COMPTON (York, W.R., Barnsley)asked the Postmaster General whether any answer has been given to the petition of the male staff (established) of the Central Telegraph Office, which was presented in January, 1888, praying for the removal of certain grievances; whether the present system of classification can be altered in 355 order to allow uninterrupted promotion of telegraphists up to a salary of £190; whether all pay is stopped during sick leave in the first, second, and senior classes, while the same rule does not apply to the higher paid officials; whether only one Bank Holiday, or an equivalent, is granted to telegraphists every 18 months; whether any change can be made in the system of long and short duties; what is the rate of pay for overtime work, and what is the largest number of hours in one day that a clerk may be kept at his duties; and whether Her Majesty's Treasury has been consulted as to any alterations in the present arrangements which may be considered advisable by the Postmaster General?
§ *MR. RAIKESOn the 10th December last I gave the following reply to a question on the same subject which was put to me by the hon. Member for the Southern Division of County Down:—
The petition to which the hon. Member refers prayed that a previous one, to which an unfavourable reply had been given, should be reconsidered. It is, I think, detrimental to the interests of the service that, when a petition has been fully considered and an answer given, a fresh Memorial should be immediately presented in the form of a rejoinder. I am not in a position to hold out hopes of any change in the status of the Memorialists which would largely increase the expenditure of the Department; but the subject shall receive further consideration.I have now to inform the noble Lord that I am not prepared to alter the present system of classification so as to allow uninterrupted promotion up to a salary of £190. As to Bank Holidays, telegraphists can only to a comparatively small extent enjoy the privilege of being absent from duty on those days; but this is only one of the conditions of their employment which they accept when they join the service, and they are in no worse position in this respect than many other classes of the community. As far as possible, steps have been taken to meet the wishes of the staff in regard to the alteration of long and short duties. Such duties cannot, however, be abolished without an unjustifiable waste of force. The rate of pay for overtime is one-eighth of a day's pay for every hour during the daytime, and one-seventh of a day's pay for every hour during the night, with an additional rate of one- 356 fourth for any extra duty performed after three hours of extra duty. The number of hours in one day for which a telegraphist may be kept on duty is governed by the exigencies of the service. I do not consider that any alteration in these arrangements is practicable, and I have, therefore, not consulted Her Majesty's Treasury on the subject; but I may say that there remains one question—namely, that of payment during sick absence, which is still under my consideration. This question, however, is one which affects not merely the telegraphists of the Central Telegraph Office, but a large body of officers elsewhere.