§ MR. GEORGE ROBERTS (Norwich)I beg to ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that several Norwich telegraphists were asked in October last to take special duty at Lowestoft, and wore informed that their subsistence allowance would be 3s. per day; that the men declined to accept this rate; that two men were then ordered to proceed on this allowance, notwithstanding the fact that the recognised subsistence allowance is 5s. per day; and that the local authorities were aware that men accepting less than the recognised rate are liable to expulsion from membership of their trade union; and whether, seeing that the authorities have now raised the allowance to 4s. per day in deference to the repeated protests of the men, he will investigate the circumstances and take steps to obviate a recurrence of the grievance.
§ THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. SYDNEY BUXTON, Tower Hamlets, Poplar)The question of the subsistence allowance is under my consideration. But the hon. Member is mistaken in thinking that there has been, or is, a recognised subsistence allowance of 5s. a 759 day. The subsistence allowance is the repayment of necessary additional expenses of maintenance incurred by officers absent from their headquarters on official business, and will thus necessarily van' according to the circumstances under which the duty is performed.