FIREMEN'S TROUBLE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 295, 7 September 1908, Page 7

FIREMEN'S TROUBLE.

• BRIGADESMEN RESIGN. DISSATISFACTION AMONC THE , AUXILIARIES, BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY. Having been unsuccessful in their endeavour to sccure additional remuneration, tlio majority of the auxiliary staff attached to the Wellington Fire Brigade have handed in their resignations. In all, twelve out of seventeen men are stated to have signified their intention to leavo at the end of this month. They claim that since the Greater Wellington schemo came into force, more work has beon required off them, and that their present rate of pay is inadequate. ,A ..petition, was. forwarded to the Mayor, througli Superintendent O'Brien, soma weeks ago, .and met with no success. A suggested scale of pay and working conditions, by Superintendent O'Brien, proved distasteful to the men, and the general opinion amongst them was,that even the old conditions were better. ■ Under the old arrangements the auxiliary staff received £15 per year. ' For the first hour at a fire they were not paid, -but for every additional hour thoy received 2s. They were supplied with a uniform, viz., helmet, coat, and trousers, but no boots were included. No' remuneration was received for -turning out to false alarms and -clilmney fires. :v IMPROVEMENTS WANTED.

Briefly, the auxiliaries petitioned for £20 a year, instead of £15, with an annual rise of £1. Following this Superintendent .O'Brien called a-meeting'for last Thursday, and submitted to the men the new scheme, which is as follows:—lnstead of £15 per 'year tliey'receive £7 10s.'; 3s. for the first hour at a" fire,' and 2s. for every succeeding hour (as against nothing for the first hour and 2s. for each, hour following), and no pay for turning out to false alarms or chimney fires. . Tho men were dissatisfied, and on inquiring of the superintendent whether there was any use in sending in a second petition were'told have to submit to tho , new scheme, and on hearing this a number decided to resign. The new conditions also provide. that the- meu, if not required on arrival at a fire, may be told so'and receive no payment. '■. ■ Tiie late fire'near the G.P.O. was probably the cause of the present action on the part of, the men. It appears that they worked for two hours and a quarter at the*fire, and were paid for that time, but, for tho first time m tho history of the Wellington Fira Brigade, tho payment of a quarter of an' 1 hour was made. Sir' Joseph Ward donated £50 to the brigade, and under an old rule thik money, ,as a public donation, should have been placed to credit of the Recreation Fund. In this case it was divided amongst the permanent men, and the auxiliaries, who re-1 ceived-, £1 and 10s. each respectively. The auxiliaries consider that they wore entitled to receive the same amount as tho permanents, but are unaware of the conditions under which tho gift ■ was, made. It is stated that tho new fire statioli at Newtown' will bo under the charge of four auxiliaries, who will recoive 3s. for every call they turn out .to, whether, a false alarm or not. This places these men on a much better footing than the others,.who aro not.resident at stations. They are liable to a call at any hour, and attend with tho chance of. being informed , that their services are not required. Again, an auxiliary may be down town in his best clothes. Ho hastens to'a 'fire, for :which ho receives 3s. and ruins his clothes. The risks he runs and the liability to be called on at any time do not tend-to make a, fireman's lot particularly joyful, and ..the/request, , when ( fully-considered, the men-contend, was only ' .fair and reasonable. '; CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE. ' Tho conditions under which the auxiliaries work at Dunedin, Clxristchurch, and ■ Auckland are stated to be much better than those in force here. Those under which the • Auckland auxiliaries ..work are as follow:— Members who sleep at the stations receive a retaining' fee of £2 per quarter, and £1 per year extra for boot money; 2s. 6d. is paid for every call, false or otherwise; tho 2s. Gd.' for the' call counts as pay for the first' hour, Is. 6d; for second hour, and Is. for every, succeeding hour. The Dunedin. auxiliary conditions aro: —Two foremon receive £35 each per annum, twelve firemen and. a waterman £25 each per annum. Their ' duty is to turn out every time tho firebell. rings, and. take a turn at theatre duty, which'occupies probably ono night every two'' weeks.' Tho Christchurch firemen receive the. -following • ■ remuneration: —Two foremen at Sydenham arid St. Albans £26 each per annum; four firemen at the two central stations £20 eachV'firemen at central stations, .£16,; at Sydenham, £12; and at St. Albans,. £10; ' No extra pay is made for long hours', 'at fires. \

THE MEN'S DEMANDS. ;J'The ' following letter, setting forth tho position of-the men, and signed by seventeen of' tho members of the auxiliary branch'; 1 was not givon to tho superintendent; l: to''whom it was addressed, because, according to their statement, he declined ; to' roceifb" 'itT Mr'.' O'Brien simply states that lie declined to endorse an application to ■ the City ; Council for increased remuneration.:— /' "We the undersigned auxiliary members of the Wellington Municipal Firo Brigade, after having carefully considered tho revised scale of pay to our branch of this service recommended by you, and adopted by the City / Council on the 20th ult., do hereby ■ tender you . our resignations, as wo. find, the terms of same unacceptable to us.. i "''Should tho City 'Council be desirous of •retaining our servicos in tho brigade we aro willing to reconsider our declaration,' §h9.uldJiho,,follpwii)g ; terms,bo accepted:— " ihat" wo'receive £15 per annum (the samo as wo received for tho past six' years). '.'That we -receive 2s. -per-hour-for the ~ first hour for all calls, with tho excepfalse,.alarms and .chimney.fifes, - the ringing of tho bell constituting a call.' • ' "That, we receive 2s. per hour for ••each " successive hour, and any hour broken into be paid for as a full hour." A COMIC ASPECT. There aro few matters so grave as not to have their comic aspect. Two members of the branch had not signed this letter. One, of them, according to our informant from the men's side, is a relative of the superintendent, and ths other has an amusing reason for not wishing to. resign. Ho is devoted to tho sweet strains of a cornet, which are, however, particularly obnoxious to the proprietors and other residents of .boardinghouses. The.' fire brigade station offers him a haven of refuge, where lie may practiso on his cornet assiduously ■ and undisturbed.*. Suc'h. liberty is not to bo assessed at a.-, base-money value; lie states that ho must cleave to' tl brigade, despite financial disappointing and it is 1 thought that if he were p . nothing at all for his brigado services i.„ would still give them cheerfully in return for the privilege of dwelling with "heavenly harmony" under tho station roof.