BROKEN PROMISE?

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 70, 19 September 1930, Page 10

BROKEN PROMISE?

RAILWAY DISMISSALS

LABOUR AMENDMENT

When the Eaihvay Estimates were under consideration in the House of Eepresentatives1 last night, Labour sought to obtain au expression of opinion in regard to the policy of the Minister of Eaihvays (the Hon. W. A. Veitch) in dismissing employees of the Department, and also in reducing coal orders in New Zealand.

The Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland) moved a reduction of £10 in the item to indicate disapproval of the policy of the Minister of Eailways in continuing the'dismissals of railway employees in contravention of his own promises publicly made and in violation of the Prime Minister's undertaking that no further dismissals would take place during his 'absence from New Zealand; and further to indicate disapproval of the Minister's action in so abnormally reducing coal orders to the various mines as to seriously dislocate the coal-mining industry.

On a division the amendment was lost by 40 votes to 24. The division list follows:

For the amendment (24). —Armstrong, Carr, Chapman, Endean, Fletcher, Fraser, Hall, H. E. Holland, Howard, Jordan, Langstone, M'Combs, M'Keen, Martin, Mason, O'Brien, Parry, Bush worth, Samuel, Savage, Semple, Sullivan, Wright, and Young. Against the amendment (40). —Ansell, Atmore, Bitchener, Black, Broadfoot, Burnett, Campbell, Clinkard, Coates, Cobbe, de la Perrelle, Dickie, Donald, Field, Hamilton, Hawke, Healy, Hogan, H. Holland, Jones, Kyle. Linklater, Maemillan, Macpherson, Makitanara, Munns, Murdoch, J. A. Nash, Ngata, Poison, Hansom, Smith, Stallworthy, Sykcs, Taverner, Veitch, AVait'e, Ward, Wilkinson, and Williams. Pairs.—For the amendment: AY. Nash and Munro. Against; the amendment: M'Donald and Lye. IN A PKECARIQUS POSITION. Speaking on the Bailway Estimates in the House this morning, Mr. W. L. Martin (Labour, Baglan) said that through orders being' placed with one company in the. AVaikato instead of being spread over a number of mines, many of the miners were now in a very precarious position so fur as unemployment was concerned. They felt that the Government. had a responsibility in the matter of their being compelled to work short time. The Leader of the Labour Party said he wanted an answer from the Minister in regard to the short working in the coal-mines, as a result of the Railway Department's actions. He said he was receiving telegrams showing that the mines were having to work short time as'the direct result of the railway coal orders policy of the Minister. The result of the change in policy was to completely dislocate the industry, especially on the AVest Coast, and to throw hundreds of men into unemployment.

The Minister of Railways (the Hon. W. A. Veitch) said that the position so far as the AVaikato miners were concerned was that the mines.could not be permanently dislocated, for the whole of the Auckland market was still open to the mines in the district.