§ Mr. SNOWDENasked the Postmaster-General if he has received a petition, dated 22nd June, from the Association of Shorthand Writers and Typists, asking him to receive a deputation to lay before him complaints about the low scale of pay for typists and shorthand writers in the Pest Office; what reply has been sent; and does he propose to bring the Post Office rate of pay for this work up to the Treasury standard?
§ Mr. BUXTONThe scales of Post Office typists are the same as those recommended by the Select Committee for telephonists, and in this way interchangeability is secured. There appears to be, however, some misapprehension in regard to the scale for shorthand writers and typists in the Post Office. The maximum for typists in the case of the Treasury is 26s., and in the case of the Post Office 28s. In addition, in the Post Office a shorthand writer and typist can at once receive an additional allowance of 3s. for shorthand, whereas under the Treasury scale shorthand writers and typists do not obtain anything extra for shorthand until they have attained the 248 maximum of the scale, when they go up by 2s. to 31s., and in any case not more than one-half of the total number of typists are to be so graded. As regards the minimum, nearly all the typists in the Post Office service enter at 20 or over. A typist entering the Post Office service at 20 would receive 19s. 6d., as against 20s. under the Treasury scale, but if qualified for the shorthand allowance she would receive an additional allowance of 3s., making 22s. 6d., an allowance which, as already stated, does not come into force in the case of the Treasury typists and shorthand writers until the maximum is reached. I am putting these facts before the Association in question, and will then consider any further communication they may desire to make to me on the subject.