Grievances of Civil Servants

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 12, 9 October 1907, Page 5

Grievances of Civil Servants

' The, Postal Employees. AWAITING DEVELOPMENTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Auckland, October 8. Pursuant to its investigations of the grievances . of civil servants, tho ."Herald" to-day publishes an articlo dealing exhaustively with those of the postal sorvice ompioyees. hi it it is stated that the chief causo for complaint is the inadequate scalo of salaries paid after long service, and tho absence of a really proper system of promotion through' merit.' Cause to Complain. - • Talcing the Department's own list of salaries, continues the "Herald," it is at once apparent that tho men have cause for complaint, and that tho service as a wholo is very far from being paid tho rate of salaries prevailing in the mercantile community. One of the worst, features of the salary list is tho position of the chief postmasters. Twenty years ago they were paid £500, and tho salary is tho samo still, whereas tho responsibility has increased a thousand-fold. The day's work for a postal official now averages eight hours, and inquiries in various branches of tho service elicited no serious complaint on this score. Tho gonernl feeling seemed to be that the hours were arranged as well as possible—considering tho exigencies of tho service This had been so, it was stated, for the past six or nine months. Inadequate Pay. "The list is full of instances of in-, adoquately-paid officers," said a postal officer. "Take tho fourth class, receiving- from £260 to £300. Thero are men in that class who havo been from 26 to 28 years in tho service, and are holding highly responsible positions, such as officer in charge of the telegraph offico at Wanganui getting £290; assistant officer in chargo at Auckland getting £300; tho officer in charge at Wakapuaka (cable station), £270; chief mail clerks, Auckland and Duuedin, £260; principal clerk, postal division, G.P.0., £260; and chief draughtsman, Wellington, £260. In equal positions in the mercantile community, theso men would bo drawing from £500 to £600 a year.'' ■• Recruits. An officer who has had considerable experience was asked if there was any difficulty in getting recruits,'and ho replied that, owing to the small salaries, tho postal service had very great troublo to'secure tho moro intelligent lads. In fact, it was scai-cely possible to get thorn at all, and it was necossary in order to fill up vacancies to tako boys of inferior. education and ability. He wont on to say that a largo number of tho best men in tho largo centres had left tho servico finding they could do bettor in outside life. Last year, and prior to that, the tido of resignations had sot in strongly, but since tho beginning of tho . year it had been stayed to a considerable oxtont, the-' attitudo now takon up being ono of " awaiting developments." Tho men saw that thoro was a glimmer of hopo of betterment of their conditions, and would wait to see if tho liopo was realised, as thoy naturally did not caro to leave a work thoy had been trained in while thero was a hopo; but tho Department would find it would have to pay salaries equal to those paid outside tho servico if it wished to retain tho services of its best men.