§ 2. Mr. WIGNALLasked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that many supervisory women officers in his Department receive less than those supervised, and that general dissatisfaction exists among the higher grades in consequence of this and other anomalies in their position; and whether he will consider referring to the industrial court the present differences of opinion as to the appropriate rates for the Departmental classes of divisional and assistant divisional superintendent, group supervisors, and checkers?
§ Major TRYONThe rates of pay of temporary divisional superintendents, assistant divisional superintendents and group supervisors are in all cases higher than those of the grades whom they supervise; there are, however, a few instances where a temporary clerk is temporarily drawing less pay than a clerk in the grade below. This is due to the fact that the minimum pay of the higher grade is below the maximum pay of the lower; but the scales of pay, which were agreed with the staff associations concerned, are common to the temporary clerical staff of all Government Departments, and there are no grounds on which 865 a special concession could be made to the staff affected in this Ministry. I have received no recent representations as to the alleged inadequacy of the pay or the Departmental classes referred to, and in any case, I do not consider that the matter is one for reference to the Industrial Court.