asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs the reasons why casual labourers employed on post office engineering work in Kilkenny City are paid at the rate payable by the County Council to labourers, rather than at the rate payable by the Corporation of Kilkenny to similar labourers, particularly in view of the fact that County Council road workers are rarely employed in the Kilkenny urban area and that Kilkenny Corporation is the relevant local authority in the Kilkenny City area.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Wages of Kilkenny Post Office Labourers.
45.
In provincial areas, casual labourers employed by my Department are paid the rates prevailing for road workers employed by the county councils in the same areas on the grounds that the type of work on which both groups are employed is comparable. The casual labourers employed by my Department in the Kilkenny urban area are paid the same rate as that paid by the Kilkenny County Council to its road workers in the same area.
Is the Minister aware that Kilkenny County Council attend to only a small percentage of the roads in the urban area, that Kilkenny Corporation labourers attend to most of the roads and that they are paid at the hourly rate of 4/1½d.? Is he further aware that other labourers who do work similar to that done by Post Office workers in Kilkenny are paid at the same rate, and in view of that, would it not appear that the very low rate paid to Post Office labourers on engineering work is completely unjust?
The information I have is that the county council have a gang headquartered in Kilkenny City and that they pay their road workers at a rate of £7 8s. per week and that the Post Office authorities pay the same in Kilkenny. Apparently the Kilkenny County Council pay a lower rate in areas outside the city area. The Post Office pay the same rate as the county council within the city area and that, I understand, has been the practice for a long number of years under successive Ministers.
Most road work in Kilkenny urban area is done at the rate of 4/1½d. an hour by Corporation workers.
Does the Minister not regard it as unduly harsh for these temporary men to be laid off at Christmas, as has occured in the Bandon area?
I have no information on that. It is a separate question.
It does not arise— it is a most irregular supplementary.