THE HOURS OF CIVIL SERVANTS.
T is a great satisfaction to read in the Times that the Treasury is demanding that the daily working hours of the Civil Service should be increased from seven to eight. It is a little amusing to consider the form in which this demand has necessarily been made. The Treasury approaches "the staff side" of the Whitley Council of the Civil Service through the medium of "the official side." This is rather like Philip sober appealing to Philip drunk. We have never been able to understand on what precise grounds a Whitley Council was regarded as suitable to the Civil Service. We can understand it in industry, where a Whitley Council embraces both the representatives of the employers and the representatives of the men. But in the Civil Service both those who stand in the capacity of " employers " and those who stand in the capacity of " men " are all employed by the State. In the last resort their interests are identical, and when they are all represented on a Whitley Council they become judges in their own cause.
Fortunately, "the official side" has a very high sense of public duty, and this appears in practice, though it may have disappeared in theory. The official side, then, will urge that an increase of the working hours from seven to eight a day is necessary, partly owing to the financial situation of the country and partly as a good example to others. The second reason is quite as important as the first. The angry opposition of the miners to the proposal that their hours shall be increased from seven to eight will be less easily overcome if it is known that the Civil Service has succeeded in resisting a similar change. The publie interest over-rides the interest of all individual sections and that is the real and sufficient Justification for the proposed increase of hours. The case against the increase, however, must be recorded for what it is worth. It rests upon the agreement which was made between the Government and the staffs in February, 1920. It was then agreed that the working hours should be seven a day, with a half holiday on Saturday "when the state of public business permitted." It further provided that those classes which were entitled to be paid for overtime should receive overtime pay only when the hours of attendance exceeded forty-two in any week. One of the principal arguments on behalf of the lower grades of the Civil Service, who earn overtime pay, is that if the working hours were increased to eight all overtime would be cut off. Further, the Civil Servants declare that their present working hours are not less, but in many cases greater, than those required in comparable employments, such as in banks, insurance offices and commercial houses. They admit that in many cases commercial firms have increased the hours while reducing the number employed, but they point out that in such cases overtime is regularly paid for. We greatly doubt whether the complaining Civil Servants could establish their point that they work as hard as clerks in other employments. All the evidence we have read on the subject tends inexactly the opposite direction. As for the objection that the Government cannot change conditions of service which have been publicly announced, it- is enough to say that no condition of public service is final. The whole thing depends upon the national interests. The Executive is only the servant of Parlia- ment, and ultimately Must reflect the -opinions of Parlia- ment. There is no such thing as finality ; a law is a law only so long as it is approved of by Parliament and is not replaced by another. The most surprising statement put forward on behalf of the Civil Servants is that only about 30,000 out of the 811,000 members work a seven-hour day, and that therefore the saving would be negligible. The Select Committee on Esti- mates plainly regarded the seven-hour day as of general application.
Officially, the hours for Civil Servants in London are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on Saturdays, when they are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Three-quarters of an hour is allowed for luncheon. In other words, the weekly total of thirty-eight hours' attendance becomes thirty- four and a-quarter hours of actual work. If these hours were really worked they would be short enough, but it is said that owing to the absence of anything like time- sheets the clerks often arrive late. It is also said that more than the official time allowed for luncheon is taken and that the preparations for going home begin a little before the actual time fixed for leaving. Also—we suggest it as a mere possibility—there may be a " tea- time " recognized by custom if not in formal docu- ments.
As we have been challenged on previous occasions to produce any evidence for our suggestion that less than thirty-four and a-quarter hours was worked, we will anticipate possible questions by referring to the fourth and fifth Reports of the Select Committee on Estimates, which are published in one volume. On Page 45 there are some questions and answers between Mr. A. M. Samuel, a member of the Select Committee, and Sir R. R.. Scott (Controller of Establishments). Mr. Samuel, in questioning Sir R. R. Scott remarked, "I think you said in answer to Colonel Pownall that it (the amount of time worked) would be about thirty-two or thirty-three hours a week ? " Sir R. R. Scott's answer was " Yes, allowing for the Saturday half holiday." Mr. Samuel afterwards expressed his opinion that no commercial firm could remain solvent on such hours.
Exactly the same conclusion was reached by the Council Of the Association of British Chambers of Corn - merce. After looking into the Civil Service hours the Council declared that without any uncomfortable speeding up or cutting down a reduction of about 15,000,000 per annum could be achieved. Although we have read a good deal of evidence upon this subject we must confess to being still a little confused as to when overtime begins to be paid, as the distinctions drawn between hours of "attendance " and hours of" work "in official documents are not very clear. It is commonly said that overtime is not paid until forty-two hours have been worked, but it would seem from the Reports of the Select Com- mittee that it is paid after thirty-four and three-quarter hours of work. Partly the explanation may be that the Saturday half holiday is written off as though it did not really exist.
However that may be, it is clear to us that the action of the Treasury is long overdue. The practice of paying overtime to the clerical staffs after thirty-four and three- quarter working hours' work, or whatever the exact figure may be, is utterly wrong at a time when the national finances are in as dangerous a condition as they are now. If the Treasury does not remove this unneces- sary burden from the taxpayer the taxpayer will soon begin to make trouble. The increase of the hours from seven to eight would save, it is said, approximately £7,000,000 a year, though this, of course, is denied by those immediately concerned. Outside London an eight- hour day is already being gradually introduced.
We will end by quoting some simple figures which speak for themselves. Before the War the Civil Service cost £29,500,000 a year. Now it costs—or did so quite recently-167,400,0Q0 a year. We cannot afford it. The lives of nearly all of us have been made harder by the War. The last class to claim immunity is that of Government servants.
Previous page
