MUNICIPAL OFFICERS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2448, 29 April 1915, Page 3

MUNICIPAL OFFICERS

'annual meeting of the asso- , CIATION. The second annual meeting of the Wellington Municipal Officers' Association was attended by 30 members, Councillor Frost presiding in the absence of the Mayor. The chairman of the executive, Mr. R. A. Hamerton, presented an interesting report on the position of the association, . stating ' tha- somethingmore than social functions was needed.

A very' important matter was the question of staff appointments and subsequent promotion. Half the discontent now openly expressed by employees of the City Council was directly attributable to an absence of system in the service. Some officers ' had been fortunate in being appointed to the staff after quite short periods of service ; others, with relatively long service, were.ploughing along their weary furrow as casuals year in and year out. The net result was more or .less halfhearted service, derogatory to efficiency. Doubtless drastic action < was required by the council to Btamp out abuses due 'to favouritism. It was to be hoped that the new councillors would be strong-on the point of looting after the. interests of their staff. A 1 scheme of classification worthy of the' name would , automatically rectify the matter. _ The annual report of; the executive mentioned that a number of members were on active service in the Expeditionary Forces, and, that, on the request of .the association, these mem- ' bers remained on salary and their positions were being kept open for tnem. Attention was drawn to Various anomalies in the matter of annual leave, of which, some .members of the staff got none, at all, while some who worked on Sundays and statutory holidays only had a fortnight per annua?. As a direct result of a visit from a cricketing party of Cliristchurch municipal officers, an association had been formed there, and it was hoped that before long others would be; established in Auckland and Dunedin, while all the local bodies in the Wellington province were being circularised.

Hie following members were elected to the executive:—Messrs. R. A. Hamerton, E. Holloway, A. Gardner, Joinson, Stubbs, Russell, M'Gillivray, Perry, Hobday. Mr. P. S. Hoy was elected secretary. , Eulogistic- reference was made by the chairman to the work carried out. by the late ■ secretary, Mr. E. Holloway, during the past twelve months.