BUSY POSTAL STAFF

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 12

BUSY POSTAL STAFF

CONGESTION AT THE COUNTERS The annual cash turnover of, the Post Office amounts to £165,000,000, which amount includes money due to other departments, and payments on their behalf to the extent of £31,000,000 every year. The month of May is a particularly busy one at Post Office counters, because the annual collection of motor registration fees, the quarterly unemployment fund levy,'and the distribution of forms for annual declaration of income in respect of persons who have not already paid the lOd in the pound wage tax, all come together in this period. As these matters have all to be dealt with before the end of May, an early word of advice may be submitted to the public with the object of preventing any irritating waste of time queuing up to the counter on one of the last few days of the month.' Postal officials are trained to do fast and accurate work courteously at the public counters, but many of these individual transactions take time, and if they are _ going to bo bulked in thousands in the last few days of May, members of the public will be obliged to spend more ti/ne over their own business than wdbld be the case if they went earlier to one of the' 800 Post Offices at their disposal throughout the dominion. Motor registration fees can be paid now, also the unemployment quarterly levy, while the forms for declaration of income are available on demand. Emergency income tax and wage tax collections this month 'mil probably total £600,000, and the annual motor registration is likely to produce about £378,000. These are some of the extra tasks which have to be performed at the 800 offices of the department this month, but meanwhile the normal _ business of the sale of stamps, collection of telephone tolls, and the handling of telegrams and # postal packets must be steadily maintained. The end-of-the-month rush which is coming shortly will be further accentuated by the fact that this will be the time when the Post Office will be distributing £75,000 in superannuation payments, and £270,000 in monthly instalments of pensions (due on 23rd of each month). Some other important items in the monthly turnover of this great and well-organised States department 'include savings bank deposits and with3J to 4J millions (heaviest at the beginning a,nd end of each month); postal notei to the value of £95,000 issued and paid; money orders valued at £260,000 issued apd paid. The Post Office has taken the new pictorial stamp issue, with its remarkable initial public demand, in its stride,so to speak, while in maintaining the monthly tasks, which include in addition to the matters already enumerated, .''ollecting £212,000 for the State Advances Department, £47,000 for the Public Trust Office, £60,000 for other Government departments, between £IOO,OOO and £130,000 in telephone exchange fees, and approximately £90,000 to £IOO,OOO from the sale of postage stamps.