§ 19. Mr. John Pageasked the Postmaster-General whether he will give instructions that Post Office telephonists and other employees who work on Sunday 25th December shall be paid at double normal Sunday rates; and what the cost of this would be.
§ Mr. Edward ShortNo, Sir. Civil Service agreements provide that Christmas day will be treated as a normal Sunday and that staff will benefit from the additional holiday that has been declared. 1339 To double the agreed rates of compensation for Post Office staff working on Christmas Day would cost about £60,000.
§ Mr. PageIs the Postmaster-General aware that many people using public services such as the telephone on Christmas Day would like and expect to pay more for those services so as to compensate properly people who are having to work on that day and who are away from their families? Would he consider this again? It happens only once every seven years.
§ Mr. ShortSo far as the public are concerned, I am following the practice of previous years and appealing to them to make their telephone calls before Christmas Eve. We are charging the normal rate for operator calls during the three days, and I hope that the public will co-operate to lighten the burden of the Post Office. The pay is reached by agreement with the staff associations and, for the overtime grades, the rate is time and a half.
§ Mr. ManuelCan my right hon. Friend tell the House whether he has discussed these questions with the appropriate trade unions? Would he take care to see that relations with the unions are not destroyed by private enterprise of this kind?
§ Mr. ShortThere are two agreements, the Civil Service agreement for Christmas Day, which is paid as an ordinary Sunday, and the staff association agreements as to how one pays people for Sundays, and these two are binding.