§ 19. Mr. Ernest Daviesasked the Assistant Postmaster-General why non-Service disabled men are refused employment as postmen.
§ Mr. BurkeIn accordance with longstanding Government policy, the Post Office is pledged to allocate 5o per cent. of postmen vacancies to ex-Service men; the remaining vacancies are required to provide outlets for boy messengers and auxiliary (part-time) postmen already in Post Office employment. The arrangements, therefore, do not provide for the direct recruitment of non-Service men, whether able-bodied or disabled.
§ Mr. DaviesIn view of the long-standing agreement, does not the Minister think it is time that this was revised, as industrially disabled men are excluded from obtaining employment as postmen at the present time?
§ Mr. BurkeOn the contrary, I think the fact that we have had another war makes the claim of ex-Servicemen, and particularly disabled ex-Servicemen, of whom we employ over II per cent., more important now than it was before.