§ Captain Kerbyasked the Postmaster-General why scale payment sub-postmasters have not benefited from the report of the fact-finding unit regarding the minor and manipulative grades with which they are comparable.
§ Mr. MarplesThe range of duties and the conditions of employment of scale-payment sub-postmasters and of the minor and manipulative grades differ widely, and it follows that a report confined to the latter is not applicable to the former.
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Postmaster-General why the normal processes of negotiation were not fully exhausted before the Post Office rejected the claim of scale payment sub-postmasters for an increase in pay corresponding to that received by postal and telegraph officers.
§ Mr. MarplesThe normal processes of negotiation are open. When I informed the General Secretary of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters that I could see no justification for a further increase in the pay of sub-postmasters, I said that my official were at the Federation's disposal if further discussions were desired.