Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1901. RAILWAY SALARIES.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 20 September 1901, Page 2

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1901. RAILWAY SALARIES.

The House of Representatives is at times strangely inconsistent. Members allege that Government are sweating their employees, and yet when proposals are made for increased payment cries of extravagance are at once raised. In the Railway Department evidence exists of unfair reductions and concessions to the public by the Minister. This o may appear to be a peculiar charge,” inasmuch as that as the railways belong to the people they are entitled to every possible concession. This is a perfectly correct contention provided always that the workmen are not sweated to secure these concessions. In the New Zealand Railway Service with very few exceptions, the employees are underpaid, there being plenty of cases where officers of every 20 years’ service receive but £lOl 8s per annum. The Minister in his statement the other day declared that the policy of the Government was to continue making reductions in freights and fares so as to keep the profits accruing, under 8J pet cent on outlay. The Minister should have added “ and securing to the employees the current rate of wages.” If this had been done the policy would have been a sound one. The Government have, however, taken the matter in hand, and this year will provide £20,000 for increased salaries. The increases were taken exception to during the Financial Debate, but the Premier in his reply to such criticism rightly defends the action of the Ministry, and informed members that when they got to the Estimates they would find that the total increase in salaries was only £56,000 and £48,623 of that was in the classified department. In the unclassified department there was only an increase of £13,192. Of the increase in the classified departments £20,000 was on the wages dn the Railway Department. The Government, he remarked, had increased the wages in that Department, and did not regret having done so. Of the other increases there were 620 increases in salaries under £200; 234 in salaries frera 200 to 300; 46 in salaries from 300 to 400; and in salaries from

400 to 500; amounting to £695. There were only six increases in salaries over £SOO, and they amounted to £176, and the salaries of the several heads of Departments amounted to only £250. It will be seen that the greater portion of the increases go to the smaller salaries, indicating that Government realise that they are not paying as much as is given by private firmg for like work. But the Ministry require to go further. The payments in the “ artisan ” and “ laborer ” division are not on the same scale as paid outside Government service, and should be at once raised to that level. The revenue is sufficiently elastic to admit of this, and it ought to be done before any further concessions are given to the public, for it must not be forgotten that railway employees are as good colonists, and have equal claims to justice with those who earn their livelihood from other sources.