RAILWAYMEN SATISFIED

Chronicle (Levin), 7 May 1946, Page 5

RAILWAYMEN SATISFIED

-Press Association '

DECISIONS OF TRIBUNAL

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, May 7. Commentmg on the Railway Tri- ' bunnl aecision announced yesteriay, Mr. T. H. Stephenson, general secretary of the Engine-drivers, ; .Jiremen and Cieaners' Assoication, said the flnding established the orinciple - for railwavmen that ! applied to many other sections of •ihe eommi.nity, namely, overtime if required to work on the sixth shift. "The Department has experienced conslderabie difhculty in retaining staff and recruiting new members owing to more attractive conditions offering outside for working from Monday to Friday," he said. "Of eourse, the railwaye cannot operate 011 a Monday to Friday basis, and ,he penal rates granted by the Triounal for working on the sixth shift should enable the Department to improve the staff position to the noint of granting all employees a five-dav week. I feel sure the decision will be well reeeived by members of the E.F.C.A., who have worked six days a week for so many years in addition to Sunday duty." Mr. T. F. Gebbie, general secretary of the Railway Tradesmen's Association said: "It is certainly an improvement on the previous decision, but we are disappointed that we did not get Saturday to stand as an overtime day in its own right, irrespective of the number of hours worked prior to Saturday. The new .order gives us overtime rates of time and a-half for the first four hours and double time thereafter 011 Saturday, provided 40 hours have been worked during the week. What we really wanted was a penal rate to apply to Saturday, irrespective of j the number of hours put in previ- i ously during the week."

fied by road transport, was substantially that determined by tne choice of rail routes in the past. 1 Any increases in population, itl seemed, would expand the existing j towns, and would not involve rail- 1 way penetration into areas not now J served. The present rail systeni| could, without undue difficuruy, bf. J expanded to meet the requirements | of considerably augmented popma tion. The chief limiting factor wa; i power, as the known supplies of I 'suitable coal seemed to be lirhited j but hydro-electric projects shoulc provide the solution.