Coll 29/11 'Tehran Legation: pay of munshis and menial staff; office accommodation' [‎75r] (149/525)

3SC
Minute Paper.
Department.
X. '*
Please see the Minute at P.Z* 2555/37.
Letters from H.M. Minister at Iran radvimn a
revision in the rates of pay of his subordinate employees
are becoming almost a matter of routine thanks to
the uninterrupted rise in the cosiP of living in Iran.
It would seem from the file (vide P.Z.2841/37
and P.Z. 2436/33) that in 1935 the three munshis A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf.
emploi^ed at the Legation were in receipt of a basic
pay - excluding Koruz gratuities and Gulhek rent
allowance - of rials 1450, 1150 and 850 p.m.
respectively (rising by biennial increments of rials
50) plus a bonus of 25$. In 1937 this bonus was
raised to 40$ in view of the rise in the cost of
living. A moiety of the additional cost was accepted
by the Government of India.
The present letter from the Foreign Office
recommends that an increase of the bonus on the basic
pay of the munshis A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. from 40$ to 75$ be sanctioned in
.w/^6
accordance with Mr. Seymour^ proposals. They iwniost,
however, that this increase should take place as from
the 1st July and not the 1st April as Mr. Seymour
had suggested.
Mr. Seymour documents his recommendations
v/ith a cost of living index which certainly indicates
the need for an upward revision of rates of pay and
he also shows that the pay of local Iranian employees
underwent an average increase of 38.5$ between 1937 and
1939. It is not to be supposed that he Y/ould make
these repeated requests in rapid succession without
good cause, and it is proposed, as on previous occasions.