Finding aid databases

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-first day's proceedings, 16 November 1933. Twelve people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Miss N Ryan referred to the increased number of applicants with secondary education. 'To my mind the competition is so keen amongst many of our young people that after a while the person with the lower education who would be fitted for the smaller post will have no chance. Pupils from secondary schools will be coming forward and eventually you might have University people coming in to get posts from people who really need them much more'.

s 6247/Fo/31

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-second day's proceedings, 17 November 1933. Nine people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants.

s 6247/Fo/32

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-third day's proceedings, 23 November 1933. Eight people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. In reference to the recruitment of civil servants, Miss Ryan voiced her concern for those who found examinations difficult. 'A person sometimes makes a good impression but might be worth very little at a test'.

s 6247/Fo/33

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-fourth day's proceedings, 24 November 1933. Seven people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. The level of importance attached to Irish in the examinations for entry into the Civil Service was discussed. Miss Ryan stated, 'I could not imagine that there would be the same difficulty now as there was some years ago, considering that Irish is compulsory in the schools'. The Commission dealt with the health and physical requirements for certain positions and made particular references to women. 'In one case a Minister when a woman's name was sent to him said, "A woman is not physically capable of the work". The Commission said, "You agreed to regulations which left the examination open to women". That was the Commission's first point. The next was that it was for the doctor to say whether or not the candidate was physically fit for the work. The doctor did not say that she was unfit. In that case, it was suggested that the woman would have to wade out to a fishery weir or go out in a boat in cold and stormy weather for fishery research work. It was pointed out by somebody that shortly before a woman had swum the Channel. There was no support for the Minister's objection and the woman was appointed'.

s 6247/Fo/34

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-fifth day's proceedings, 30 November 1933. Fourteen people were present including Mrs Mary Kettle and Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Mrs Kettle referred in particular to the experience of women working in the Post Office. 'I noticed when I visited the Post Office that a good number of the girls were engaged at machines or nerve-wrecking things demanding a great amount of concentration. It did not seem to me that there is much provision for a change of employment'.

s 6247/Fo/35

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-sixth day's proceedings, 1 December 1933. Nine people were present including Mrs Mary Kettle and Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr HP Boland, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants.

s 6247/Fo/36

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-seventh day's proceedings, 14 December 1933. Ten people were present including Mrs Mary Kettle and Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr J Leydon, Secretary, Department of Industry and Commerce, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Mrs Kettle brought up the matter of temporary staff in the Department of Industry and Commerce and also the case of writing assistants, 'I saw those girls in the Post Office, and if any friend of mine were an applicant to go into the Post Office as a Writing Assistant I would rather see them doing charing, instead of working 6 or 8 hours a day at those machines'. She also enquired as to whether any women had received promotion. 'The Writing Assistants are women. In your promotions for the last 18 months have there been any women promotions? - No'.

s 6247/Fo/37

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-eighth day's proceedings, 21 December 1933. Eight people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr A Heron, Civil Service Clerical Association, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Mr Heron states that the rates of pay for female writing clerks compare unfavourably with those offered outside the civil service. 'We have mentioned the case of banks. The rates are considerably lower than the rates of pay of women clerks and typists in insurance offices'.

s 6247/Fo/38

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, thirty-ninth day's proceedings, 1 February 1934. Eight people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr A Heron, Civil Service Clerical Association, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Mr Heron provided the Commission with evidence of the unfavourable rates of pay received by female writing assistants in the civil service. He also highlighted the fact that they have little chance of promotion within the service. 'There are other aspects of the Writing Assistant position, of course; complete or almost complete, absence of promotion prospects'. Overall he highlights the difficult conditions under which women in the civil service are working and demands 'equal pay for equal work'. 'Any sickness there is on the part of women officers in excess of that in the case of men officers is largely due to the type of work they are doing and their rates of pay rather than to any actual physical explanation. The conditions under which many women are working in the Civil Service are extremely unfavourable as compared with the conditions even the men are working under. The typing grades have mechanical, monotonous kinds of work and the Writing Assistants are working under very bad conditions in a number of offices at high pressure'.

s 6247/Fo/39

report

Transcript of the Commission of Inquiry into the Civil Service, fortieth day's proceedings, 2 February 1934. Seven people were present including Miss N Ryan. The meeting questioned Mr A Heron, Civil Service Clerical Association, on matters relating to arbitration. Amongst other topics, the Commission discussed problems relating to the grading, recruitment and remuneration of civil servants. Mr Heron puts forward the case of typists, whose pay and conditions are poor, 'It is too low having regard, first, to the cost of living and, secondly, to the conditions obtaining elsewhere. So far as we can gather there are very few typists employed in the City at a rate as low as that, and it must be remembered too that while the typists in smaller commercial offices in the main would be young girls living in the city in their homes you have the position that the Civil Service recruitment is from the whole country. In the majority of cases these girls are coming up from the country to civil service posts. They have got to provide themselves with board and lodging which they cannot get at less than 25/- a week and the scales of salary paid leave them little or no margin for anything else'. The status of and conditions for typists were discussed at length by the Commission.

s 6247/Fo/40

report