HC Deb 15 May 1962 vol 659 cc1129-30
15. Mr. Spriggs

asked the Postmaster-General what special arrangements exist for Post Office staff who are retired on health grounds.

Miss Pike

No special arrangements exist for Post Office staff. The normal Civil Service rules apply.

Mr. Spriggs

Why are not special arrangements made for people who are retired on health grounds? When a person is registered as disabled in a place like St. Helens, Lancashire, one of the most difficult things to do is to get a job. Employers want to know exactly what is the matter. They say to comparatively young men, "Why are you seeking work at your age?", and they have to tell them. I ask the Assistant Postmaster-General not to close her mind on the case about which I wrote to her but to go into it to see what can be done to help these young men.

Miss Pike

As the hon. Gentleman knows, our staff are civil servants and generally there is no need for us to have special rules which apply to our own staff. We try to be as helpful as possible. I assure the hon. Gentleman that I will look into this case as sympathetically as I can.