Mr. Monsell appears to have met the Letter-carriers of London
in a kindly spirit. The men now receive a guinea a week, rising for- four years a shilling a week, then stopping seven years, and then rising by another shilling a week to 30s. They ask that the rise shall be continuous and extend to 35s., that the rate of rise shall be con- tinuous, and that they shall have an immediate increase of 10 per cent. They also ask for a better arrangement of their holidays and a chance of promotion to certain offices. Mr. Monsell replied to the deputation that the rates now paid were fair rates for unskilled labour, indeed good rates, when perquisites were taken into the account, while the pensions, especially to those who entered young, were very good indeed. A boy who- entered at sixteen might at fifty-six retire on a pound a week for life. The carriers are only required to work eight hours a day. He thought them better off than most men of their class, but he would make two concessions,—would reduce the " break " in their time to four years, and would institute " good-conduct stripes," as among soldiers. Each stripe will carry a small increase of pay- The proposals apparently satisfy the men, but it is a pity some- thing cannot be done about their food, by opening a restaurant in each district for them exclusively. A daily walk of twenty miles compels them to eat more than most of their class, and a re- staurant such as we suggest could give them at coat-price mea's now quite unattainable.
Previous page
