§ MR. STEADMAN (Tower Hamlets, Stepney)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster-General, if he is aware that the recommendation of Lord Tweedmouth's Committee, in the matter of long and short duties, is being contravened in the newspaper section of the General Post Office, and that, whereas the Tweed-mouth Report recommends that no continuous long duty should extend to more than 10 hours on one day followed by a duty on the succeeding day not exceeding six hours, sorters in this section are employed on regular duties of 18 hours and 21 hours respectively, within 48 hours; and if he is prepared to have these duties altered in accordance with the recommendation referred to?
§ THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON EDUCATION (Sir J. GORST,) Cambridge UniversityMy right honourable Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has asked 1126 me to reply on his behalf. The honourable Member has not given a complete quotation, of the recommendation to which he refers, for it proceeds to say—"That if it should be necessary in any particular case that the long duty should exceed 10 hours, or the total duty within 48 hours should exceed 16 hours, such excess should be treated as overtime." This proviso has been duly observed in the case of the men in question.