A RAILWAY COMPLAINT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2890, 30 September 1916, Page 8

A RAILWAY COMPLAINT

MINISTER IN REPLY

ALLEGED INJUSTICE TO ENLISTED MEN POSITION EXPLAINED Tlio Minister of Railways (Hon. W. H. Hcrries) has sent tho following letter to tho. general secretary of tho Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants in reply to . a communication, published in Thursday's issue of The Dominion, complaining that railway servants wlio enlisted for. service suffered injustice Wellington, September 29, 191 G. M. J. Mack, Esq., General Secretary, A.S.R.S. Sir, —With reference to the representations made in your letter of 27th instant respecting the position of railwaymen who enlist for service with tho colours dbroad, and subsequently seek re-employment, I may say at onco that from the outbreak of war lip to the present moment the railwaymen who have enlisted have carried with them tho best wishes of myself, .the General Manager, and other responsible officers of the Railway Department. Those who suffer injury in the service of the Empiro likewise have our fullest sympathy. "I appreciate to the fullest extent that railwaymen, who do their duty to the Empire aro entitled to receive sympathetic treatment on their return to duty, and such treatment will undoubtedly bo accorded to them. It must, however, be. recognised that, while the t interests of tho men are safeguarded, tlio Railway Department, 110 matter how sympathetically tho management may bo . disposed, cannot entirely abandon reasonable precautions having for their object the protection of the interests of the Railway Department from financial responsibilities in respect of men who have been discharged by the Defence Department as- medically unfit for military service. "With respect to railway men who presented themselves for enlistment but were rejected by the Defence Department on the grounds of being medically, unfit, it is true that at the,outsell two such men wore on again reporting for duty to the Railway Department asked to sign an indemnity under the 1 Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, freeing the Department'from liability ill respcct of accident or injury | being received as a result of tho ailment from which the were suffering; hut, on the matter being.represented, and a .clear statement of facts elioited, tho decision was reversed, the indemnities and authority was some weeks ago given ,to the persons who made the representation to make the matter known to the staff, and I have been advised that this was done. "In regard to cases where men have returned to New Zealand medically unlit, the position is, of course, quite different, but it is certainly not intended to treat such men unsympatheticallv. Tho Department holds the view that soldiers who havo dono their duty to i'tho Empire, and who have, unfortunately, been injured whilo 'so doing, have both a moral and legal right to every consideration, no matter what branch of tho Government service or employment they may have been drawn from. In this view I entirely concur., It must, however, he recognised, that in order to 'ensuro' equality of treatment tho liability of compensating the soldier for injury received' while on active service- should rest 011' the Defence Department and tho extent of tho liability should bo assessed and decided by the Pension Board'of that which body alone has full knowledge of all the facts, ' • "So far as the railwaymen are concerned, the Department is anxious to take back into the service men frho return from" the'front, arid those uninjured will be rc-emploj'ed in their old ■positions or an equivalent position. Men . incapacitated by injury • unfitting them for their previous positions Will as far as possble be found suitable work, and special efforts will be made to placo them. Where the injured mes. have to bo placed in light positions and their civilian pay is consequently affected, provision should be made to protect the returned soldier against loss; but the liability in'- that respect would not, of coursej devolve on tlio Railway Department. To cito an instance,- a man who suffers from heart strain, sun-stroke, giddiness, or loss of limb, when he returns to,the Railway Department would" necessarily havo limitations from which cortain, risks would accrue in tho ordinary courso of the employment..' For: the purpose of protecting employers from liability •in such-cases, the Legislature has, under the Workers' Compensation for Accident Act, provided machinery to' 'enable the employee to indemnify the employer against responsibility for accident resulting from known defects of the. employee, so -that the-principleof the Railway Department of obtaining an indemnity in cases such'-as are under discussion is sound. The liability from which they had indemnified the Railway Department should; of course, be borne by the Defence Department, or be met by some special provision made by the State. "Personally, I havo no doubt that the State will do its duty to returned soldiers, but, as the questions raised by you 1 affect a largo number of men employed in the Railway and other Stato Departments, I will take' an early opportunity of placing the matter before Cabinet, so that the questions, raised can be considered by the Government with a view to- uniformity throughout all Government Departments, and will communicate further with you as soon n'3 a decision has been arrived at.— 1 am, .etc., (Sgd.) WILLIAM H. HURRIES, Minister of Railways."' ;