LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1188, 25 July 1911, Page 9

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

RAILWAY WORK AND ADMIMISTFIATION.

Sir,~Being one of' those-' I who had the pleasure of visiting the Dominion Shew at Hawera, and, by tho way, a reluctant ■witness, like many more travellers, of a shocking fatality thero on Saturday, evening, Juno 8, whereby a man employed at shunting operations lost his life, 1 would esteem it n favour if you would grant mo a little space in your valuable paper on the above subject. I may say that this is not tho first fatal accident in connection with shunting work that 1 have been forced to witness during my travels on New Zealand railways. Indeed, they are of such common occurrence in New Zealand that it,seems to havo grown mi the imaginations of tho peoplo that they arc quite unavoidable. However, when a person is forced (o witness such. a sad and awful accident as that witnessed by hundreds of peoplo at Hawera en Saturday evening, it inclines one to go a bit deeper into the subject than the aspect that is presented to your readers when they read of these fatal'ities in cold print.

Surely some effort should be brought forward to try and minimiso tho risk those engaged in shunting have to undergo, or the Railway Department should give the public some justification for.the recurrence of these tragedies. They have been so frequent lately.that I doubt if New Zealand does not hold a record in this connection. Certainly one dees not hear of moro when travelling on English railways. I believo the Railway Department here has a bad case to answer. Upon making inquiries I find that since the railways were taken in hand by the' Hon. ,T. A. Jlillar ho has made those men—shunters and all of their branch of work—one of the chief, targets for his passion to make, the railways pay. Not, during my travels in New Zealand, I havo heard notliing but sympathy with this class of men, and the risks they are called upon to take, during the course of their work. Upon inquiry as to their rate- of pay, it seems to one and all that it is nothing short of inhuman to ask men to continue at it under existing circumstances. Certainly the travelling public havo got no sympathy with tho Department or the persons responsible for its administration in their treatment of those men. The public dees not countenance these men taking such, deadly risks on their behalf for such an inadequate return.

I believo some time ago men working nt Hawera were paid "shiiiiter;'s wages," such as they are—a matter of an extra sixpence above ordinary Mages—but in their eagerness to make the railways pay the Department lias pounced on I heir extra, sixpence, and men now engaged there on this dangerous work receive the magnificent wage of eight shillings per day for their unpleasant work, which also entails irregular hours. The above also applies to Araiuotni Junction, and I believe it is practised all over the Dominion. Inexperienced porters aro asked to do . shunters' work in order to contributesixpence extra to the political existence of the Government. No doubt the effects of this practice are partly responsible for such an unduly large number of accidents. As someone has to do the work, it would be a graceful act to sec that .those who do it receive adequate compensation for'their altogether dangerous duty. The sooner this is seen to the sconer will it alleviate the painful feeling of the'travclling public who aro unfortunate enough to witness such accidents as that at Ilaworn. .. By treating men fairly they will bo induced to excel nt their work, instead of the conditions which now pervade the service. Men are now reduced to a state of dissatisfaction and lose their interest in their work through the utterly callous treatment meted out to them. Men should be induced to take an interest in their work, and unless a man is paid for it lie could hardly be expected to do so. I believe resigning is tho only consolation these men are offered, and from what I gather the Department finds it fairly' hard to keep the ;places full. As long as these resignations are not dealt with in a milliner lo reduce their number, so long will accidents occur, through the ever-recur-Jring renewal of the staff and the ineffi- ; ciency which it brings with it. Surely 'it is not a business-like stylo of making a concern pay to reduce the wages of those that take part in the most dangerous part of its work?

We have hundreds of men,in the colony who would fill Mr. Millar's placo if he ■cannot; show more acquaintance with tho , needs of tho situation. Wouldn't it be a more humane thing for the honourable . gentleman to cut down the privileges enjoyed by hunt clubs, polo clubs, etc., instead of penalising his staff? Mr. Millar has promised an increase of i' 50,000 in wages to the staff—in tho light of the abovo facts it seems n very ancient custom to cut down wages where they are doubly earned at least by shunting men, and at a certain opportune time to return part of it, and ask them to look utpoa. it as a concession. I am afraid, from what I have seen and heard, raiiwnymen's bitterness in regard to Mr. Millar's stewardship of the railways is too far gone for Mr. Millar's "concession" ■to heal the w,ound. However, if lis does not reap the benefit himself, he will do •the public a turn by putting them right with the shunters of tho New Zealand Tailways by kindly returning them their .dues in no mean manner when his "concession" is distributed. Thanking you, Mr. Editor, for your valuable space—l am, etc., TKAVELLEri.