SIR WALTER FOSTER (Derbyshire, Ilkeston)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that a telegraphist named Bullamore has submitted certificates from various medical men stating that he was suffering from nervous disorder and needed complete rest; that these certificates have been set aside by the Medical Department of the Post Office; that Bullamore has had a sum exceeding £9 sterling deducted from his wages by reason of his remaining from duty in obedience to the injunctions of his medical advisers; and that since that period the official medical officer has informed him that he can have six months holiday without pay; whether he can state why Bullamore, after being treated as a malingerer, is now being treated differently; and explain why he should not be treated as regards sick leave in the same manner as other Civil servants, seeing that Bullamore has been compelled to decline the offer upon financial grounds.
(Answered by Lord Stanley.) For the information asked for in the first part of the hon. Member's Question, I must refer him to my Answers of the 15th † instant and 5th ‡ ultimo. Mr. Bullamore cannot be allowed pay for the period during which his absence was not covered by official medical certificate.
† See page 265.‡ See (4) Debates, cxliv., 443.1533 Recently Mr. Bullamore has been offered six months leave without pay. In view of the opinion expressed by the chief medical officer of the Post Office and the medical referee to the Treasury, I should not be justified in granting him sick leave with pay. There is no ground for considering that he is not being treated in the same manner as other Civil servants under similar circumstances.