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THE RAILWAYMEN

REPLY TO DEMANDS NEW BOARD PROPOSED A.S.R.S. FILE DISPUTE : Following is the tex,t of the reply sent by tho-Minister of Railways (Mr.' Massey) to the railway societies lvho interviewed him recently regarding ; the report of Mr. Justice : Stringer .on pay and conditions in the service:— ' "With' reference to the representations made by your society at a recent interview . with me regarding the remuneration of railway servants, I have the honour to inform you that the matter has received careful - consideration and that it is proposed by tho Government to take the courso indicated by me in this letter;' "The present scale of remuneration, based- on the recent report of tho Honourable Mr; Justice Stringer and commencing on January 1. 1920, will continue in operation until June. 1 next. A. new commission will then bo constituted to inquire as to whether any increase has occurred in the cost of living between January 1 and Juuo 1 and to report as to. what bonus, if any, should he granted to railway l servants in renpect of that increase in addition to the present scale, of ; remuneration. The report of that commission will take effect' as from June 1 and will remain in. operation for a period of six months certain. Thereafter the scale of remuneration will be subject to review by a new commission with .reference to tho then cost of living and eo on from time to' time at such intervals as the Government may determine until and unless Parliament otherwise provides. "The commission now proposed will consist of two Stipendiary Magistrates who will be assisted by an advisory assessor nominated by oach of the three societies representing the staff of the Railway Department and also by an. adv'sory assessor nominated by the Department. The assessors nominated by the societies must be members of the railway service. "It is desired that the preliminary arrangements should be,taken in hand immediately so that the commission may commence its sittings not later than the first week in June. I shall be glad, therefore, if your.society will give early consideration to the norn'motion of an assessor and advise me of the name of its nominee." / A.S.R.S; IN REPLY NOT SATISFACTORY. Mr. M. J. Mack, secretary of the >! Amalgamated Society of Railway Ser- j vants, asked for his opinions regarding the reply of the Minister. Mr. Mack said:

"The Government is merely trifling with the wholo position. They are endeavouring to see how far the railwaymen will really go. There is certainly no indication' in the reply of the Minister of an earnest desire to deal with the position. Men have been going from the service and are still going. The service im a deplorable condition. Men, are being called upon to work unreasonable hours simply on account of a shortage of staff.' And the Government suggests setting up another board with 'advisory assessors, who will have no say in tho finding, of the board, and this proposed board is to deal with wages only. . Let me repeat that the Minister has admitted that tho railwaymen are entitled to bo. placed in the same relative position in which they were before the war, and that the cost of living has increased 62 per cent. We have told him that we. are prepared to accept' 62 per cent, as a basis of settlement .so far l as wages are concerned. But the working conditions must be improved." Asked as to how he thought the men would take the reply of the Minister, Mr. Mack said ho did not know. The 6torm might burst any 'time. .■''■■ ; ACTIQNTAKEN . A DISPUTE CREATED. ' 'The A.S.R.S., through their secretary (Mr. Mack), yesterday filed with the Minister of Labour notice of a dispute with the management of the service under the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, and the intention is to demand an investigation of the dispute by a committee of representatives of the two parties to the dispute. Tha procedure ' tinder this Act is that the committee meet to discuss' the dispute, and : in the'event of a failure to settle the committee may make proposals, not exceeding two in number, for settlement. After that report is presented, if, the principals do not settle in the meantime, .the proposals are referred by the) Registrar to the men, who ;vote on them by ballot. If there are ko such proposals, then the Registrar is charged with the duty of taking a vote on the question of whether the men will strike. In their demands tho A.S.R.S. are asking for an all-round increaso in pay • of 2s. Gd. per day.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200423.2.74

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 178, 23 April 1920, Page 8

Word count
Tapeke kupu
766

THE RAILWAYMEN Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 178, 23 April 1920, Page 8

THE RAILWAYMEN Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 178, 23 April 1920, Page 8

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