RAILWAY WAGES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 143, 12 March 1920, Page 6

RAILWAY WAGES

THE LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS' ASSOCIATION.

Mr. W. M'Arley, secretary of the Neir Zealand Locomotive Engineers, 1' iremen, and Cleaners' Association, writes as follows:—"With rcgavd to the statement appearing in Mr. Justice-Stringer s report and again in the statement issued, by the Minister, of Railways, that the wages and conditions sot out by the Department had beon agreed to hy tne New Zealand Locomotive. Engineers, Firemen, and. Cleaners' Association and, embodied in the Railway Act of 1919, I desire to state" that this, is not according to fact. The locomotive men's assumption had' not agreed to the wages or conditions proposed, and this should be well known to Judge Stringer and well known to the Minister of Railways. Statements of this kind do not tend towards a peaceful settlement of the difficulty. . Further, I would liko to draw the. attention of the public to the statement of wages put in by the Minister of Railways, as affecting a first-class locomotive engineer. •" The Department states that the average per week for 36 week* ending February .14, 1920,. was .£6 OS.' sd. At the rate of 16s. 6d. per day as stated, those typical eases worked seven days or all night work on each of these weeks to make this sum- of money. The men are compelled to work unless they produca-sufficient proof that they are too ill to work so that this overtime worked is. not of their own volition. However, in stating their case to Judge Stringer the Department gave the average for ono month as .£lB Is., and now a public statement appears making' tho wages .£24 Is. for a month of four weeks. Which statement' is correct? Possibly from the Department's view the tvpicnl coses suit thepublic best instead of' the' average foi all. Tho statement appearing; in tho papers of the average wage paid shows pointedly that something must be done to relieve the men who are doing Mich long hours on duty, and this can only bo done by getting more, men and stopping the retirements. However, at this: stage I do not- desire to make, any comment':, but think it advisable for tlio statements appearing in newspapers to be correct, and not so as to inflame tha minds of the men any more than can be helped."