§ 1. Mr. ROBERT YOUNGasked the Secretary of State for India whether revised scales of pay have been given to 366 the Indian Civil Service, the Public Works Department, and the educational services; whether the increase has been granted to those recruited in Britain as an overseas allowance; whether the British mechanics working on Indian railways requested such an allowance, which was refused, prior to the grant to Indian civil servants; and whether the concession now made to civil servants will be enjoyed by British recruited mechanics on the railways?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Mr. Montagu)Revised scales of pay have recently been sanctioned for various services which are recruited partly in England and partly in India, the pay of the officers domiciled elsewhere than in India being fixed on the basis of that of the officers domiciled in India plus an overseas allowance. Overseas allowances were not granted as a method of increasing pay, but as a method of defining an important element in that pay. I am not aware of any request for overseas allowance by British mechanics working on Indian railways, and I do not think such an allowance would be appropriate in their case. They do not belong to a regular service of which the pay can advantageously be fixed on this basis, but are engaged under agreement on rates of pay which vary according to circumstances, and there would appear to be no object in dividing their pay into Indian pay and overseas allowance. They have been granted substantial increases of pay since the beginning of the War, including separation allowances up to the 31st March, 1920, to their wives and families in this country.