POSTAL OFFICERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 219, 10 June 1920, Page 6

POSTAL OFFICERS

CONFERENCE OF ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL REPORT

The annunl conference of the Post and Telegraph; Officers' Association is at present sitting at Wellington. Yesterday tlw delegates wore engaged on detail business in connection with the organisation. The formal' opening of the proceedings will take plnco to-day. Tie order paper is a long one, but tho principal business of a pro rata incre.T-e in llir- basic salary to bring it up to tho spending value or 1014 will take precedence. So far no definite reply hns been received from thie Prime Mini'stor to the representations made to him 011 May 4 last. In a letter dated Juno 7 Mr. Jtnssey states the Government has no desire to delay action oil the important matters brought forward at the May interview, but he hopes the- association will understand it is not possible to deal finally with the request until tho matters in dispute with the railway employees are disposed of. This letter has not come up for discussion yet, and it is thought possible the settlements arrived at by the Railway Tribunals will definitely affect Hie (|,uestions raised by tbe Post and Telegraph Association. Annual Report In his annual report the secretary (Mr. 11. E. Combs) stated that organisation had not received the attention it required, owing to a variety of reasons, chief among them being his prolonged albsenco from headquarters. The loss of membership as a consec|UMico of a .loss of faith in tho organisation, or as an objection to its principles, had been surprisingly low, especially when c ne remembered that tho subscription was doubled twelvo months ago, thus affording an excuse to withdraw to t'.!®S!\ who were merely lukewarm in their belief that their interest! were hound up with those of their fellow officers. The membership on April 1, 1020, was G750, as against 7CSI pit April 1, 1919. The difference was mainly accounted for by 10S8 resignations from the Department. The continued rise in tiie cost of living had hit members bawl, and the announcement of the cost of living bonus did not case tho tension because almost coupled with it was the official announcement that tbe cost of living had risen from 27 per cent. (1919 recCa=si Reason basis) to 62 per cent in twelvo months. So far the desired finality had not been readied with regard to fhe outstanding war bonus, and whether tho pledge in this respect waß to be* honoured or broken had still to be soen. Coming to tho question of "Commissioner or Promotion Board control," tho secretary said that ,tho C6SO- - experience of Commissioner contiol was that it could make no headway. What was wanted was tonio authority who could say "Yesi" or "No" to the requirements ot' tho MTvice as presented by .tho. association, and to whom representatives could have direct access at j ali reasonable timet;. "The Commis- i sioner system," added the secretary, "as I «ltered by the Post, and' Telegraph Xinflndment Act, 1918, seems to me to give all tho guarantee tho country can desire as regards tho absence of the uso of influence—political or otherwise—in Appointments to or promotions in the Service, while the presenco of an elected representative on the Promotion Hoard gives tho Service a guarantee of fair dealing which is equally desirable. After all, tbe majority of promotion appeals proved that the Commissionei relied entirely on'the report of the Do* parhuental head in arriving at his decisions. It is to tbe Department wo must look to rectify anomalies, and members should therefore regard as most valuable tho system which brings them closest to the Department." Touching the Appeal Board the secretary noted that this 'tody proved power' less to, alter the principle on which tho reclassification was applied to the Sep vice. It did, however, do valuable work in securing for numerous appellants the strict application of the system adopted to individual- cases, Tho speretai'v went on to state that it was hoped that the 'coming session '-' would see some activity on the Dart of their Parliamentary friends in tho .matter of half-pay for Post ai;d Telegraph soldiers so that all would be treated alike. Referring to the finances the report slated that despite heavy expenditure a much improved' position of affairs was disclosed.