§ SIR G. KEKEWICH (Exeter)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the fact that girl clerks in the Post Office are now to be paid at the rate of £42, rising by £3 increments to £48 per annum, and are after two years service promoted to permanent women-clerk-ships, while boy clerks employed in the Post Office and other Civil Service Departments, who do similar work, are paid at the rate of £39, rising by increments of £2 12s., and have no such prospects of promotion open to them; and can he say what is the reason why such distinctions, as regards salaries, increments, and promotion are made between boys and girls who perform similar duties in the public service.
§ MR. HOBHOUSEMy attention has been drawn to the scale of pay for girl clerks quoted by my hon. friend. The conditions of service of boy clerks will probably be altered very shortly, and I do not, therefore, propose at the present juncture taking action on the lines suggested by the Question.