§ Mr. JOHN WARDasked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the dismissal of numbers of the established employés of the National Telephone Company in the Stoke-on-Trent district, on the ground that the company's undertaking is about to be transferred to the Post Office; and whether he can say how he intends to work the system acquired if the experienced men now working for the company are dismissed prior to such transference, or does he propose to re-engage the dismissed servants of the company for that purpose?
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Sydney Buxton)The numbers of the construction staff of the National Telephone Company are constantly fluctuating. I am informed by the National Telephone Company that since the beginning of this year they have discharged eight men and one boy from their construction staff in the Potteries District owing to slackness of work. There appears to be at the present time a considerably reduced demand for the extension of the telephone system, due partly to the fact that the telephone system has made very rapid extensions of late years, and that there is therefore not the same opening for new construction; and, further, that the state of trade has of late seriously affected the demand for new telephone installations. As regards the Post Office system, there is also, for the time being, less work in connection with renewals, as the old plant has of late been largely superseded by new and more 13 permanent plant. As regards the Trunk lines also during the last few years lines have been added in anticipation of traffic, and there is at the present moment less opportunity of extending them. There is thus, just at present, both on the part of the National Telephone Company (so I am informed by them), as well as on the part of the Post Office, a somewhat diminished demand for construction work. This being so, it is not possible, unfortunately, to undertake to engage men discharged by the National Telephone Company on Post Office work, but we do so as far as possible. I am glad to say, however, that, as already stated in the House, I have come to an arrangement with the National Telephone Company in regard to certain construction work, and am also in communication with them in regard to a proposed arrangement to enable them to continue to open new exchanges in their areas, in order that the work of construction shall be continued without interruption between now and 1911.