§ 69. Major ARCHER-SHEEasked the President of the Board of Trade the qualifications required of applicants for positions as examiners of masters and mates at the different seaports; what are the minimum and maximum salaries of these examiners; what number of years does it take on an average for an examiner to reach the maximum salary; and what are their rates of superannuation in proportion to salary on reaching the retiring age prescribed by the Board of Trade?
§ Mr. BURNSApplicants for positions as examiners of masters and mates are all required to have had experience in command of foreign-going ships, and must be between twenty-five and forty-five years of age. The rates of salary vary in different districts, but the lowest salary in any district is £200, and the highest salary in any district is £400. At present it takes from five to eighteen years to reach the maximum salary, according to the district in which the examiner is serving. The examiners are subject to the ordinary rules as regards superannuation, and on the average the present staff of examiners will have completed twenty-eight years of pensionable service at the age of sixty-five. When the Merchant Shipping (Certificates) Bill, which is now before Parliament, becomes law, I hope that it may be possible to minimise the inequalities in the positions and prospects of the examiner which now exist?