§ 15 Mr. LEONARD (for Mr. NEIL MACLEAN)asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office (1) whether he will state which trade union has endeavoured to make representations on behalf of the warders of the Tower of London; whether they have been allowed to do so; and, if not, what reason has been given for such refusal;
(2) whether, in view of the fact that the parchment warrant which the warders at the Tower of London receive on their appointment reserves to them their full civil liberties, he will remove the ban placed on them, and give them the right of collective bargaining in the consideration of any grievances which they may wish to have considered; and, if riot, whether he will state what grounds exist for refusing the rights that are enjoyed by all 193 other civil servants, established and unestablished;
(3) whether he is aware that when consolidation of the Civil Service bonus was put in operation during 1934, and the minor grades of the service were brought into line with the recommendation of the Royal Commission, the warders of the Tower of London enjoyed the same privileges; and what reasons exist for refusing them the full rights and privileges of civil servants?
§ Mr. HACKINGThe Yeomen Warders of the Tower of London are retired warrant officers or senior non-commissioned officers of the Army or Royal Air Force, and are appointed by the Constable of the Tower. Their appointments are in the nature of rewards for military service, and are subject to the Regulations for the Tower of London, which state that they are on the same footing as serjeant-majors of the Army, and that their discipline is to be maintained in the same way as that of non-commissioned officers serving with their regiments. They have police duties, and are sworn in as constables. It would be inconsistent with the status of a body of this kind to allow representations regarding their pay or conditions to be made by a trade union, and the Transport and General Workers' Union, which has endeavoured to make such representations, has been so informed. These conditions are in no way inconsistent with the Warders' Warrant of appointment.