§ Sir W. de FRECEasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that, while a number of clerical officers redundant to requirements in the provincial establishments of the Post Office and transferred to London offices are retaining the seniority appropriate to their service and receiving increases of pay to bring them up to the London scale, certain other clerical officers, few in number, have been transferred to London from post office establishments in Ireland on the setting up of the Irish Free State without carrying seniority rights or having their pay adjusted; that the latter officers were compelled to transfer owing to their known loyalty to the British Government during the disturbances in Ireland; and if he will agree to give his personal consideration to the claims of these servants of the Crown?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONIt is the case that certain clerical officers were transferred from the Irish Free State when that State was set up. These transfers were made on the basis of an exchange of situations between officers serving in this country and in the Free State, and were regarded as being effected on a voluntary basis. The standing regulations then in force did not provide for the carrying of seniority in such a case, and I regret that it is not practicable to reopen these cases which were decided more than three years ago. The other officers referred to by my hon. Friend are presumably those who were redundant to requirements in858W the provincial engineering department, and were transferred to London in the interests of the Service. Their retention of seniority, etc., is in accordance with the usual practice in such circumstances.