ECONOMY IN P. AND T. DEPARTMENT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 227, 20 June 1921, Page 4

ECONOMY IN P. AND T. DEPARTMENT

EAIPLOYEES’ GRIEVANCES. AVith apologies for being serious upon a festive occasion, one or two speakers at tho annual smoke concert of the Chief Post Office Pastimes Club said a few words about working conditions and other malt ters of interest to post land telegraph officials. Air J D Burns, in replying to tlie. toast of “The Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association,” said that seven hours duty for telegraph with on jA a twenty-minutes* break tor lunch, meant impaired health for the workers. No outside employer could have proposed such a thing. t Air H. E. Coombs said that some of the things that had been done in the name of economy were, to put it slangily, “over the fence.’’ A degree of retrenchment had taken place, and it had taken place at the expense of the junior officers—the most defenceless junior officers -namely, those of the General Division. He claimed that the recognition of the association had been wiped out. and submilted .that this wiping out of. recognition and the curtailment of the emoluments and Ihe rights to. increments belonging to a certain section of the service did not represent a proper adherence to constitutional lines of working He did not think that to take out: of a man’s pay envelope what he had a right to expect on completion of twelve months’ service was British justice and fair play. There was no oilier organisation in New Zealand the members of which had their conditions of work disturbed without being given a voice in the matter or an opportunity to protect themselves. He thought that the association stood in need of the “good health” that its members were about to drink to. Tlie right of appeal on the question of classification. Air. Coombs stated, had been seriously interfered with, and he wanted to know how it had been possible for the expressed will of Parliament to be over-ridden in this matter.