§ Mr. CHARLES DUNCANasked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the fact that men are being transferred to the factory at Birmingham from the factory at Mount Pleasant, London, with a substantial reduction of wages; and whether, in consequence of the admitted hardships of such transfers and the men's objections to 440W them, he will suspend any contemplated transfers of the character mentioned until the Select Committee on Postal Servants, to whom the question has been referred, has reported?
§ Mr. HERBERT SAMUELIn view of the falling off of the work at the Mount Pleasant factory, some of the unestab-lished staff there have been invited to fill vacancies at the stores depot at Birmingham. The only alternative will be to discharge London men as the work diminishes and take on fresh men at Birmingham, as there is no prospect of other Post Office work in London on which they could be usefully employed. The provincial scales of wages in the Post Office are less than the London scales, on account mainly of the difference in the cost of living, and the lower payment which is offered at Birmingham does not represent any loss of real wages. Removal expenses are paid in such cases.