§ 88. Captain Crowderasked the Assistant postmaster-General if he will give an assurance that ex-Service sorters employed by the G.P.O. will be afforded the same opportunity or sorters who have not served in the Armed Forces to appear before a selection board to be considered for direct entry into the clerical class; that all redundant sorters shall be obsorbed by entry into the clerical class before temperory Civil Service clerks; and that direct recruitment to the new postal and telegraph officer grade shall be suspended until all established redundant sorters have been absorbed.
§ Mr. BurkeAs regards the first part of the Question, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Battersea (Mrs. Ganley) on 19th March. As regards the second part, I regret that I cannot give an assurance that redundant sorters will be absorbed into the clerical class before temporary clerks. The establishment of temporary clerks during the reconstruction period is governed by the White Paper on Recruitment to the Established Civil Service (Cmd. 6567) which has been approved by this House. Temporary clerks under 30 can secure establishment through the open competitions; those over 30 are eligible by selection for 15 per cent. of the reconstruction vacancies in the whole Service: less than 100 temporary clerks are being so established in the Post Office.
410WThe answer to the third part is that no open competitions for appointment to the new Postal and Telegraph Officer grade will be held in London for three years after the introduction of the reallocation scheme, and no limited competitions until all sorters who can qualify have obtained appointments to the new grade.