§ 67. Mr. HIRSTasked the Postmaster-General whether it is the duty of any of his officials to satisfy themselves that adequate rates of pay are being given by sub-postmasters in the area under their control; whether it is the practice of his administration to check the reports of such minor officials on the conditions in sub-post offices; whether he has received any such reports with regard to the wages paid in the Blackheath area; whether he will state the standard pay and conditions by which it is his practice to measure the wages and conditions of clerks employed in sub-post offices; and whether, having regard to the widely varying rates paid to shop assistants, he will adopt the rate paid to established Post Office clerks for similar work as the standard by which to judge the wages of the clerks employed on full-time Post Office work by sub-postmasters?
§ The ASSISTANT POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Pease)I beg to refer the hon. Member to my replies to questions on this subject on the 8th July and 5th August. Particulars of the ages, rates of pay and hours of duty of assistants employed on Post Office duties are furnished by sub-postmasters, and these are subject to periodical verification by the Postmaster.