§ MR. CAUSTON (Southwark, W.)I beg to ask the Postmaster General whether the baskets used for Parcels Post and general Post Office work are now made and repaired on Government premises; and, if so, whether the work is done direct by Government employees or by private contractors on the Government premises; what is the, 1891 rate of wages paid by either, or both, Government and contractors; and is the rate up to the recognised standard rate paid by employers in the open market?
§ THE SECRETARY TO THE TREASURY (Sir J. GORST,) ChathamMy right hon. Friend is absent on important public business, and he has asked me to answer this question, and to say that no new Parcel Post baskets are at present manufactured on Government premises in Great Britain, but a large number are repaired by workmen employed directly by the Department at its factory at Mount Pleasant, Clerkenwell. All the men, with two exceptions, receive fixed wages of sevenpence an hour, and they work fifty-four hours a week. They are kept in constant employment throughout the year, and have the advantage of a fortnight's holiday without loss of pay. The supply of baskets is divided between the Board of Works and the Post Office, according to sorts. The Office of Works purchases some from prisons, and also employs a contractor, who has been informed of the Resolution of the House of Commons. There are some also manufactured at certain Asylums for the Blind. In Ireland some of the baskets used by the Department are made and repaired at the Mountjoy Prison, and the Department pays certain fixed prices for this work.