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better that there should be some uniform scale of total years, years in some Colonies being reckoned for one year or two years -one year and 15 months and so on? You may get a much fairer scheme. A man has 15 years in West Africa and 10 years in Trinidad, and will be entitled to a pension at the age of 45 years. When we come to pension questions it would be worth while going into that, and therefore if there is any chance I do not think we need be prejudiced in considering that point in connection with nurses now.
Mr. BAYNES: In the Leeward Islands this matter comes up on the 17th of this month, when the Legislative Council meets, and, if the Nurses Bill is not passed then, the whole Bill will be lost for another year. Will it be possible to send instructions to the Government to introduce the Bill, which came over for approval some months ago? It would save a year in our case.
Mr. AMERY: It would be a good thing to have that done.
Mr. BAYNES : 8s. 4d. or 10s. or whatever is thought right.
Sir HORACE BYATT: Perhaps we might record the opinion of this Conference that all Colonial Governments should be urged to adopt this scheme-some have already done so, and others are intending to do so. Perhaps it would be sufficient if the Conference urged the Governments to do this.
Mr. AMERY: How could we meet that particular difficulty of having an age of 45 for one place and an age of 50 for others? Sir HORACE BYATT: That would be the difficulty of the whole question, the officials as well as the nurses.
It appears to me that there is no particular hardship now on the nurses. It would be easier to keep your health for two years in Gibraltar than in Lagos. I do not see any particular point in it for the
moment.
Mr. AMERY: The simplest thing would be to press this scheme as it stands on all the Governments, and if we then. adopt a new principle in the pension scheme we can remedy the situation afterwards.
Sir HORACE BYATT: I think that would do.
Mr. MARRIOTT: The question is a financial one.
If we make it 45, the Colonies who want it 50 will have a bigger financial burden. These ladies will be able to go at 45, and there will be no question of death between 45 and 50.
We do not want the nurses after 45 when they are beyond capable work. But I can see the other Colonies who want to make the age 50 not wanting to pay for the others who make it 45.
Mr. AMERY: What happens when a nurse serves in several Colonies? She retires at 45 and these Colonies will give her her pension in respect of her service straight away. The other Governments who have fixed the retiring age at 50 will not begin for another 5 years.
Mr. BAYNES: Could not the nurse be placed on the same ground as any other officer? If she retires on account of ill- health, she ought to be able to retire after 10 years.
Mr. BOTTOMLEY: That is provided.
Mr. AMERY: It is 15 years reduced to 10 years.
Mr. ORMSBY GORE: You do not wish them to participate
in the scheme if they definitely turned it down?
Mr. LUKE: With regard to your suggestion, Sir, that years of service in unhealthy Colonies should count as a multiple of years of service in healthier Colonies, would not the Army principle, according to which one year's service in West Africa counts as two at home, serve as a convenient basis?
Mr. AMERY: That is rather what I thought.
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Sir DONALD CAMERON: There is a regulation of that sort in East Africa, that service counts.
Sir HORACE BYATT: Yes, that is so.
Mr. AMERY: I think we have a few outstanding points on Item A (2) to-morrow, otherwise we are rather ahead of our programme. We shall dispose of those in the morning, and then take the relation of technical to administrative services, Item A (3). I do not know whether that will allow us to get on to Item B (1) before the end of to-morrow.
Mr. ORMSBY GORE: We have various experts due to come on Friday.
Mr. AMERY: Perhaps the best thing would be, if we could polish off A (2) and A (3) to-morrow morning, to start the general discussion on the constitutional question to-morrow afternoon, carrying on again on Tuesday, when we could take the purely technical points.
(The Conference then adjourned.)
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