§ 35. Mr. SMEDLEY CROOKEasked the Postmaster-General if he will consider the advisability of making an alteration in the practice in his Department whereby ex-service men are discharged to make room for non-ex-service men from another town, though the latter may have longer service with the Department and when, as in the recent case in Birmingham, the housing difficulty is acute?
§ Sir K. WOODA preference is given to ex-service men in engaging staff for many situations in the Post Office, but when it is a question of discharging staff owing to shortage of work, it is, I think, generally regarded as reasonable that length of service in the Post Office and degree of skill should be the principal determining factors. This has been the practice since the War and has generally been regarded by the staff concerned as the most equitable arrangement in the difficult circumstances.