544 TRANSACTIONS OP SECTION P< 



being payable at the reduced rates prescribed by Section 47 of the National 

 Insurance Act, 1911. 



In answer to a question asking for details as to the number, conditions of 

 service, age, etc., of the women employed in Government Departments under 

 this scale, the Secretary to the Treasury replied on July 27, 1915, as follows : 



' Appointments to temporary clerkships are usually made by heads of Depart- 

 ments at their discretion, and it would not be possible to ascertain the total 

 number of women so appointed without making detailed inquiries which would 

 take a considerable time, and in view of the constant fluctuation of work would 

 not, I think, be of much value. In view, however, of the large number of 

 temporary appointments authorised to replace junior members of the public 

 service who were given permission to enlist, a special arrangement was recently 

 made with the Civil Service Commissioners by which they keep a list of suitable 

 candidates and assign them to Departments if requested. This arrangement 

 has been largely (but not exclusively) used by Departments, and the number of 

 appointments so made is as follows : 



(1) Typing, duplicating, sorting, and routine work at 18s. to 20s. per week 74 



(2) Ordinary clerical work at 21«. to 25s. per week . , - . . . . 604 



(3) Shorthand typist duties at 26s. per week 43 



(4) Higher clerical and supervising work at 30s. per week .... 56 



The average age of persons assigned for routine work on the 18s. to 20s. 

 per week scale is between seventeen and nineteen. Some older candidates with 

 limited qualifications have also been assigned to this grade. No limits have been 

 definitely fixed for this or for any of the other grades. 



The duties of the routine grade (1) are those commonly performed by boy 

 clerks, female sorters, and female typists. ' Ordinary clerical work ' (2) is such 

 as is given to assistant clerks (abstractors) and junior Second Division clerks. 

 The higher grade covers duties of a like character but involving some element 

 of responsibility, e.g., the supervision of work, &c. Besides these grades a few 

 appointments have been made at higher rates for work requiring special qualifi- 

 cations and experience. 



All these clerks are informed on assignment that the employment is strictly 

 temporary and liable to termination at any time. 



The Board of Agriculture especially has had considerable difficulty in 

 obtaining the required number of women at the wage offered. The India Office 

 has found it necessary to replace four men by five women. Since the War the 

 Labour Exchanges have taken on between 800 and 900 extra women in clerical 

 capacities. The War Office has engaged a number of women on new work as 

 ' language ' experts at 30s. to 3l. a week. 



An exact comparison of men's and women's wages is difficult, as the men are 

 all on a scale, and it is impossible to assess in real wages such assets as 

 sick leave on full pay, free medical attendance (in the P.O.), pensions, &c. to 

 which Civil Servants are entitled. The duties are often re-arranged, and it 

 must be remembered that, with the exception of doctors, all women in the 

 service are paid at a lower rate than the men. 



All the Civil Service Unions urge that temporary work should be paid at a 

 higher rate than permanent, as a safeguard, and that women should receive 

 equal pay for equal work, but the men's Unions wish it to be certain that the 

 work is really equal, otherwise deductions must be made — for favourable duties 

 and hours, &c. 



The Postal National Joint Committee asked that women substitutes should 

 be paid the average salary of the men replaced. With regard to postmen, in 

 actual fact women are paid less ; if men are not obtainable at the lowest rate 

 a higher rate can be paid, but women, if taken on, are only paid at the lowest 

 rate. It is very difficult to calculate exactly what the women should be paid as, 

 e.g., 20 women recently replaced 12 postmen. On the average 10 per cent, less 

 appears to be paid to temporary women clerks than to temporary male clerks. 

 The view of the Service is that women should be paid less. The whole question 



