93. Mr. THOMSONasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the overtime at the Savings Bank Department is caused by arrears of balancing the postmasters' accounts; whether this work was ever performed by men and, if so, by what grade of men; why the men are not assisting the women to overtake the arrears, seeing that they were caused by the loan of women clerks to the men's branches during the War; what grade of 1070 women are employed on the work; and to which of the new grades are the men formerly employed and the women now employed on balancing assimilated?
§ Mr. KELLAWAYI have been asked to reply to this question. The overtime referred to is mainly due to arrears of balancing work. This work was, up to 1909, divided between second division clerks and women clerks. Since then it has been normally performed by women clerks; a certain number of male clerks have assisted on overtime to overtake the arrears. The second division clerks employed on the work before 1909 have, under the general reorganisation scheme, been assimilated to the executive grade; and the women clerks now employed on the work have been provisionally assimilated to the clerical grade.