the women in the
various clerical departments of the Civil Service. The general policy
of the Federation will be to afford a ready means of communication
between various sections of the Service for the purpose of taking
joint action when necessary in the interests of the whole body of
Women Clerks, and to enable them to concentrate more effectively on
the larger issues connected with the claim for equality of opportunity
for women with men in the Civil Service.

* * * * *

This article will not be complete without some reference to the
Report of the Holt Committee which is engaging the attention of the
Postmaster General at the present time.

When the Report was published in August last, it was generally agreed
that the women had been badly treated. The demand for equality of
remuneration with the male staff which was put forward by the Women
Telegraphists and the Women Clerks has been completely ignored. The
Women Sorters are awarded an increase of 2s. a week in the maximum
salary, and, as a set off, it is proposed that they shall undertake
a larger portion of the minor clerical duties now performed by Women
Clerks. The immediate supervision of the Women Sorters is to be met
by the establishment of the Senior Sorters (who at present receive a
supervising allowance of 3s. a week) as a regular supervising class
with a fixed scale of salary, viz., 32s. per week rising by 1s. 6d.
to 38s. The ultimate supervision remains in the hands of the Women
Clerks. The Committee recommended the abandonment of the tentative new
grade of Female Assistant Clerks on the ground that there is no need
for a class intermediate between the Women Sorters and the Girl
and Women Clerks. A further recommendation, causing widespread
dissatisfaction, is that the hours of duty shall be increased by three
and a half hours per week. The eight-hour day for manipulative
work and the seven-hour day for clerical work has hitherto been the
standard working day in the Post Office, and the suggested increase
with no compensating rise in salary apart from an immediate increment,
not to be carried above the maximum of the scale, has been rejected by
all classes with indignation.[3] The Women Telegraphists get nothing,
the Women Telephonists nothing, the Women Clerks of the First
and Second classes, L10 and L5 increase in the maximum salary
respectively. The Women Counter Clerks and Telegraphists in the
provinces get nothing,