§ MR. RAMSAY MACDONALD (Leicester)To ask the Postmaster-General if he will state what rate per hour was paid last year to casual employees employed specially during the Christmas pressure for both outdoor and indoor 372 work up to 18th December, between 19th December and 21st, and from 22nd December to 26th, at the following offices: Birmingham, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Nottingham, Plymouth, Sheffield, Bradford, Cork, Derby, Leicester, Norwich, Swansea, Portsmouth, York, Bath, Birkenhead, Carlisle, Bournemouth, Oxford, Blackpool, Bolton, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Chester, Coventry, Crewe, Darlington, Gloucester, Grimsby, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wolverhampton; and what rate per hour those employed this year will receive for the same dates in accordance with the instruction issued by him.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The desired information could not be procured without a considerable amount of labour. The rates of pay varied according to the district and were in all cases those for which suitable men for the work could be obtained. It seems advisable, as far as possible, to base the rates of pay on a uniform basis, and instructions have therefore been issued that the rates of pay for the temporary force this year should, as far as possible be based on the rates recommended by the Select Committee for auxiliary service. Besides the fixed wage the men receive special pay for night work, for Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and get overtime when it has to be worked. The net result of the alteration will be an increase in the total amount of pay.