§ MR. KEIR HARDIEI beg to ask the Postmaster General whether he can say how many postal employés in London over the age of 18 years receive a weekly wage of 24s. and under; whether these are established men; what are their hours of labour; at what hour do they begin duty, and when is the day's work over; and whether he proposes to abolish or modify the early morning and evening attendance at present performed by the sorters in the London district?
§ MR. ARNOLD MORLEYThere are 9,646 established officers on the postal side in London—sorters, porters, and postmen—paid upon scales, with a minimum of 18s. or 20s. a week, rising by annual increments in the case of postmen (in the City) to 34s. a week, and in the case of sorters to 56s. a week. Of these at the present time 4,937 received 24s. a week or less. The large proportion of officers on the lower steps of the scale is mainly due to the rapid growth of the Service and to the large additions which have been made in recent years to restrict the hours of duty to an eight-hour day and to prevent, as far as possible, overtime being worked by the regular force. There are in addition nearly 1,000 unestablished officers doing a full day's work, who receive in most cases 18s. a week. Of these a quarter are ineligible, by reason of age, for appointment. The remainder—about 750—have been taken on within the last 18 months, in order to reduce overtime amongst the established staff. These 750 persons are all eligible for appointment, being, as a rule, between the ages of 18 and 20, and steps are taken from time to time, as opportunities occur, to place them on the establishment as sorters or postmen. All these persons work for eight hours daily (Sundays excepted). But the hours of attendance vary in each case in accordance with the requirements of the work. In addition to these full-time men, there is a body of about 2,400 auxiliary postmen, who work from two to six hours a day, and are paid at a rate varying, according to the hours at which the duty is performed, 780 from 6d. to 9d. an hour. The hon. Member must recollect that the established officers, in addition to their pay, derive great advantages from receiving full pay during the annual leave, and during their absence when ill, as well as free medical attendance. The postmen receive also uniform and an allowance for boots. These advantages are estimated to be, in the case of postmen, equivalent to an additional wage of not much less than 5s. a week. The hon. Member should also recollect that all established officers have the prospective advantage of pensions on retirement, while every well-conducted postman can look forward to good conduct stripes, each of which carries an allowance of 1s. a week. I have given careful consideration to the question whether it is practicable in any way to modify the early morning and late evening attendances at present required from 29 per cent. of the sorters at the General Post Office, and I have invited the men themselves to suggest how this can be done without any unreasonable addition to the cost. But the difficulties of doing so appear so great that I cannot hold out much hope that these duties will be altogether abolished. Many of the men, I am informed, prefer these split duties to continuous duties at inconvenient hours, such as all-night duties.