§ 62. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that promotion in the postal telegraph department of the Post Office depends on securing the recommendation of members of the staff side of the appropriate Whitley Council, to whom the postal servant has to make application, and not to his departmental controller who has knowledge of his work and capacity; and whether this practice has his approval?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONPromotions in the telegraph department, as in other branches of the Post Office service, are made on the recommendation of an official promotion board, of which the senior local controlling officer is the chairman. It is open to the staff to make representations to this board, through the staff side of the appropriate Whitley Committee; but the weight to be attached to such recommendation is entirely a matter for the discretion of the board, which is in possession of full information as to the work and capacity of the various candidates for promotion.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDo I understand that, if a man applies to his local controller for consideration of his case for promotion and the controller refers him direct to the local Whitley Council staff side, he is doing something he ought not to do?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONI should like to have notice of any particular case.
§ Sir W. DAVISONIs it not desirable in the public interest that the controller, who knows a man's work and capacity, should have the power of making representations with regard to his promotion rather than the staff side of the Whiteley Council, who may not know the man at all?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONPerhaps I have not made the point quite clear to my hon. Friend. It does not follow by any means that the promotions board always accept the recommendations made by the staff side of the Whitley Council, because they do not.