"JUST A FEW CRUMBS HAVE FALLEN"

Chronicle (Levin), 7 February 1947, Page 2

"JUST A FEW CRUMBS HAVE FALLEN"

— Press Association

RAILWAYMEN'S REACTION TO j TRIBUNAL'S REPORT

; By Telegraph-

WADDINGTON, Feb. (5. x "Just a few crumbs have I'allen from the tribunal's table 011 this occasion, " said the general secretary of the F11gine I) rivers, Firemen's and Cleaners' Association, Mr T. H. Stephenson, when conimenting on the findings of the Railway s Industriai Tribunal. ' ' The size of the crumbs may be gathered from the fact that although the association had fiifieen claims before the tribunal the cost of anything granted would, in my estimation, be less than £1000 a year. Spread over the whole of the iocoiuotive running staff, this is not iikely to give much satisfaction to my members. I feel strongly that the tribunal was unduly infiuenced I13- the Railways I>epartment statement on railway finances in which it was pointed out that the j revenue for this year was not likely to j exceed expenditure. Fares and freights ; have not been increased since 1938 and j the position is that the Railwa3rs Departnient is purchasing all its commodities at 1946 levels and selling its product — transport — at the 1938 level. "The Governmcnt had decided not to increase fares and freights and if users did not pay, the eommunity as a whole had to, ' ' Mr. .Stephensoh said. "With this we have 110 serious quarrel ! but we do object to the department and tribunal using this position to reject i claims which 1 feel sure sliould have j been won on their merits. " Mr. Stephenson drew attention to the ! fact that the hearing was delayed from | August and September and that the J grants were retrospective only to Febj ruarv 2 and February 16. ' ' My organ- | isation is not greatly affected as the rej sult of this," lie eoncluded, "because I the cust of the E.F.O.A. claims granted ' by the tribunal is infinitesmal." | Views of Tradesmen. j "The decision of the Railway In- | dustrial Tribunal has been received too j recently to attempt to anal_y.se their offect fullv but it is clear that they do not do anything to overcome the railway tradesman 's dissatisfaction with his relative wage rate. " This was the comment of Mr. T. F. 1 Gobbie, secretary of the Railway i Trndesmen 's Association, last night, when the Tribunal 's decision was cir- ' culated. "The rejcction of the association 's nvvlost claim indifatps that there' is little likelihood of obtaining from tlie Tribunal a pvoper assessment of the prodnctive and economic value of the tradesmen 's work," he said. hlr. Gobbie reiterated a point made by hlr. E. A. Whitlow, the workers reprcsentative on the Tribunal, that the tradesmen 's wages fixed by the Tribun al were maximuin rates, but that those fixed For outside tradesmen by the Ar bitration Court were mininium wages. "This the Tribunal has failed to re counise and its decision will not be hailed with onthusiasm by raihvav 1 tradesmen," he said. j While some minor anomalies had been dealt with the general iinpression would lio that the "mountain had ; laboured to bring forth a mouse," Mr. Gebbie eoncluded.