RAILWAY SERVICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1190, 27 July 1911, Page 6

RAILWAY SERVICE.

OFFICERS' GRIEVANCES. A'PETITION TO PARLIAMENT. (By TelcErapti—Press Association.) Dunedin, July 20. The outcome of tho recent annual conference at, Dunedin of delegates of the Railway Officers' Institute, representing tho first grado in the service, is a petition <o ba presented to Parliament at an early date. The petition opens by asking that the position in tho railway service which has been reduced in status* during the last few years shall be restored, and that the Act shall be amended so as to provide that railway officers shall not. be less efficiently 'remunerated than officers of the Post and Telegraph Department. Tho paragraph supporting this praver savs:— "Notwithstanding the fact that the traffic on the railways has increased considerably during the last few years, tho Department is in many instances requiring officers in a lower grado to perform the duties and accept the responsibilities of officers.in n higher grado at a lower rate of remuneration than is payable in the higher grade. Consequently efficient officers with long and faithful service are deprived by the Department of tho promotion to which they are rightly entitled. This is causing dissatisfaction and unrest amongst the officers, who feel that the Department is not carrying out the spirit ami intention of tho Act."

The arguments adduced at tho conference in support of tho request for at least equal treatment to that, given to officers of the Post and Telegraph Department briefly were:—

(a) That there is no legitimate reason why railway officers be treated so differently, seeing that they served (he same employers. (b) That tho duties performed l)y railway officers are more onerous and responsible than those performed by postal officers. (o) That the hours of duty are longer, and the work more trying, and on those who have, the working of tho trains as part of their duty the continual strain has a detrimental effect on tho nerves. (d) The very fact that a slight mistake may lead to an accident with disastrous results in tho loss of life, not considering damage to.expensive rolling stock, causes anxiety which railway men cannot avoid. Tho fact also that any such mistake carries with it tho penalty of reduction of grade or loss of position does not mitiagto the anxiety.

(e) A railway officer cannot get awMy from work or shake off his responsibilities. Those responsibilities and trials have not been reduced by the safety appliances introduced, inasmuch as they require constant and regular attention, and an officer is on duty practically every minute each long day. With regard to the statement of the Minister for Railways, that after the railways paid a certain percentage of profits lie was willing to grant a considerable sum by way of increasing tho pav of the employees, tho Institute says this is likely to act to the disadvantage of members' service, because should the stipulated Krofit not lx; reached, members could not expect.any promotion. It is further argued by the Institute that this practice does not obtain in other branches of the Civil Service, as there arc branches of tho public service which do not, and are not expected to, show profit. To tho argument that railway officers receive privileges in the. shapo of a free pass once a year and privilege tickets as a set off against tho advantages of pay enjoyed by tho other Department is replied that railway officers would willingly forgo these privileges for aconsideratiou o£ solid cash and tho payment of overtime. Of equal importance in tho opinion of tho conference to (he question of status in the Civil Service was (he question nf the fixity of salary as laid down by the Classification 'Act during the 11)10 ses-sion-of Parliament. The clause which was included in the Government Railwavs Amendment Bill provided that the Gov-ernor-in-Council might from lime, to time, on the recommendation of the Minister, fix the amount of salary to bo paid to an officer of anv sum within the maximum and minimum limits of tho class of the grade in which such officer is placed and such amount shall bo tho salary .payable to that officer in respect of Iho office he holds without' annual increment. This is objected to by the members of the institute on the ground that it gave the management power by Order ,n-Council to fix the salaries payable lo officers at any rate between the maximum' and minimum in anv grade without such officers obtaining tho usual annual increment provided by the Act and without their having the right' of piajs that the above-named clause may not bo passed into law and that they ma y bo hcar d. in tho matter. f ,,V"'i M P ra y« - in tho petition states tbat railway officers shall receive the and Telegraph Department, and that sick leave be not deducted from annual leave, or in tho alternative (hat railway officers shall received the same annu.il leave, tho same sick leave, and the same payment for overtime as officers in the Post an nl "doßrapn Department. the petition further asks that railway officers be paid lor all work performed on .Sundays at the same rates as those paid to officers.!!! (he Post and Telegraph Department and that the Act. be amended to provide .(hat (lie Department and officers be equally represented on (he Appeal Board; (hat the board shall bs presided pver by a Judge of the Supremo Court, and that the decisions of the board snail be final. Other grievances set out. in the petition include the system of promotion, which is said to bo defectie by reason of the fact, that efficient officers have lren superseded by junior officers without satisfactory rcafoii being given to the officers superseded. It is also maintained that the travelling allowances paVable under the regulations of tho Act to relieving officers in grades 7, S, !), and 10, being officers in receipt of maximum salaries of '■••;iKi. .KSS, .£220, and .6200 per annum, respectively, is insufficient to compensate relieving officers. Tho petition will be accompanied by. schedules showing tho number of positions in the Railway Department which have been reduced a grade during the last three years. For instance, the position of traffic managers of Dunedin and Wellington districts has been reduced by .£100; district traffic managers of Wnnganui and Invercargill are receiving i'ls less than formerly; relieving officers at Wanganui and Dunedin are receiving .£45 less than paid for the position three years ago, whilst the position of storekeeper at Addingtou is worth t CIOO less than before the reductions took place. A number of other cases are cited as typical of reductions in payment that have taken place. Schedule C attached to the petition gives an interesting comparison of salraios paid to a number of officers in tho Post and Telegraph Department, and those paid to officers of the Railway Department in equally responsible position. The telegraph engineer at Dunedin receives a maximum salary of .CfiflO, whereas the. maximum salary of the district oiHnrer of railways at Dunedin is ,f.V25. The maximum salary of the chief postmaster at Invercargill and also at Wniiganni is ■•£525, whilst that of traffic manager of railways for the same places is ,£.150. Officers in charge of the principal telegraph offices receive, up to .£17.5, whilst the maximum salaries of city traffic, clerks, stationmastcr.s workshops foreseen, locomotive foremen, range from ,£'JCO down (o JC3OO. Assistant postmasters are graded at a maximum of <Ei2s, as also assistant inspectors, whilst in the railway servicestores, audit, and traffic audit inspectors are given a maximum oi .C.vVi. Xumerous other parallels are given, She advantage in (..-.ii'li instance being against the railway officer. The institute, in making comparison with tho Post and Telegraph Department, regarding the salaries, make-it clear that they did so only because the Post and Telegraph Department was (he only other classified Dciurhnnit in the Public Hervice. They desire if to be understood that (hey do not wish in (he slightest degi-cc to disparage the duties of members of (lie Post and Telogiv.ph service, or in any way to prejudice their classification, as there is no doubt tint the classification provided only what was just and reasonable for the valuable services performed. They, however, are confident that Parliament, after carefully considering the requests, would agree thai they aro fair cud reasonable, and would give (hem hearty support.