§ Mr. BROMFIELDasked the President dent of the Board of Trade if he can state the amount of war bonus that has been given to the clerical staffs of colliery companies and the date the same came into operation?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe Controller of Coal Mines has sanctioned the granting of aggregate war bonuses to members of colliery clerical staffs in receipt of remuneration of £500 a year or less up to the following amounts:
To male clerks of 21 years of age and over 29s. To male clerks between 18 and 21 years of age 22s. 6d. To male clerks between 16 and 18 years of age 12s. To female clerks of 18 years of age and over 18s. To female clerks between 16 and 18 years of age 9s. These figures are to be calculated upon pre-war rates of the persons concerned, exclusive of advances given for individual 1755W merit or as service increments, and are to be regarded as a war bonus due to and dependent upon the present high cost of living. The amount of war bonus paid to clerks under 16 years of age is left to the discretion of colliery companies. There is no definite date from which these bonuses are due, but the Controller has agreed to raise no objection to their payment as from any date after the first full pay, following 13th August, 1918.