CIVIL SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 117, 20 May 1939, Page 7

CIVIL SERVICE

"BECOMING RESTIVE"

GOVERNMENT'S DELAY

DECISIONS AWAITED

The Government is taken to task by an editorial in the May issue. of the "Public Service Journal" for its delay in making decisions on several matters of importance to civil servants, and the "Journal" states that the service is becoming restive.

"In the March issue of the 'Journal' we made editorial comment on the delay on the part of the Government in announcing a decision affecting the Public Service on some matters of moment that have been the subject of representation for many months," says the aritcle. "May has come, and still the service waits and is becoming restive in the process.

"We are not unmindful of the fact that the Government is grappling with* major problems of State, but this does not warrant the continued postponement of determinations on the just claims of its employees. It is true that considerable improvements have been effected in service conditions since the present Government has been in power—restoration of salary reductions; improvements in salaries and scales through the general regrading; and reduction of hours.

"There are, however, questions of considerable importance still requiring attention, such as:—Restoration of certain rights of appeal; payment of salaries fortnightly, appointment of qualifield temporary employees to the permanent staff; restoration to general division employees of additional week's annual leave on completing 10 years' service; improvement in boarding allowance for cadets; extension of basic wage at "21 years of age to the Public Service; minimum award rate of pay to artisans; extension of clerical award wages to permanent and temporary clerical workers who are 26 years of age; improvement in rates of travelling allowances; conditions and rates of pay for overtime." OVERTIME RATES. The "Journal" refers in detail to the matters mentioned above, and then proceeds to discuss overtime rates, as follows:— . "The question which is causing as much heart-burning as any in the Public Service at present relates to the conditions and payment for overtime. The present rates range from Is 6d an 'hour for officers receiving not more than £ 180 a year to 3s 6d an hour for officers receiving £380 to £470 a year. "They are so much below rates that: are paid to workers outside the Public j Service that it is astonishing that the j Government has permitted them to remain without amendment for more than three years. It will be noted that there is no provision for overtime for an officer receiving more than £470 a year; in fact the regulations go further because an officer supervising overtime worked, whether he is receiving more or less than £470 a year, is not entitled to payment for overtime. In addition, there is a maximum amount payable in respect of overtime worked by an officer during any calendar month—it shall not exceed the difference between * one-twelfth of his classified salary and one-twelfth of £470. ~ "Then, too, the regulations provide that only work which the Commissioner considers special in its character and which cannot be performed during the regular hours of duty can be regarded as overtime worked for which extra payment may be made. There are a number of departments regularly working overtime by reason of volume of work or shortage of staff in which no overtime whatever is being paid for, possibly the most notable instance being the Public Works Department. . "This applies not only to the clerical and professional staff, but also to that section df the general division staff that is required to work overtime on Saturday mornings in the event of construction workers working on that day to make up time lost through wet weather. v"ln some departments the Public Service Commissioner has- approved of overtime being paid for hours worked in excess of forty in a week—the Customs and Social Security Departments being instances. In these Departments the staffs are working overtime at the rate' of four to five nights a week. They are certainly better off than those Departments in which no relief by way of payment has been granted, but the fact still remains that they are being remunerated at a totally inadequate rate.

"We feel that the Government cannot reasonably delay further in making its decisions on all these questions; that is, if they desire to play fair with their own employees. Correspondence has been to no avail, and we record the situation in the Public Service Journal for the information of all members and for others who are interested in the welfare of the service."