THE RAILWAY EMPLOYEES’ GRIEVANCES.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1209, 18 January 1878, Page 3

THE RAILWAY EMPLOYEES’ GRIEVANCES.

The new Oddfellows’ Hall was crowded last evening in every part except the platform, the object of the meeting being to take into consideration certain grievances of which the railway employees complain in the matter of overtime and Sunday labour.

Shortly after the hour appointed for the business to commence, Mr Wynn Williams took the chair.

The Chairman expressed the great pleasure lie felt at presiding over so large an assembly, and the little fear he had that his duties would be onerous, seeing that public meetings, not only in Christchurch, but generally throughout New Zealand, were always well conducted. That the question they were met to consider was one of great importance no one could deny. It was of importance not merely to the Government employees, but to all classes of persons who are affected by the prosperity or non-prosperity of the working classes in this and every other country. Its interest, therefore, was not confined to working men. In the action they were about to take on this question he would exhort them to be careful, and in their speaking to he temperate. If they did their duty towards the public they would have the public sympathy with them, without the shadow of a doubt. They would carry with them ten times, nay a thousand times, greater weight by acting in a proper manner than they would if they took any violent steps. Their great object should he to keep the sympathy of the public with them, and they must eventually succeed whatever might be done in the meantime. He had to read to them two letters of apology which ho had received, and he might also say that he was sorry that a great number of gentlemen who had promised to be there that night had not appeared. One of the letters was from Mr Gould, and the other from Mr Hobbs, (The chairman read the letters, which expressed sympathy with the objects of the meeting, and regret at the writers’ unavoidable absence.) He had had a conversation with his Worship the Mayor, who had expressed to him his great regret that he was unable to attend in consequence of his being compelled to bo present at the annual meeting of the Masonic body held that evening. The Mayor had requested him (the chairman) to say that the object of the meeting had his entire sympathy. He would not detain the meeting by any further remarks, as he understood that the Rev. Mr Fraser would propose the first resolution.

The Rev. Mr Fraser had much pleasure in coming forward to an limit to the meeting the resolution he was to propose, and in addressing them under the presidency of their present chairman. People sometimes differed from one another in opinion, but his being there that night was an indication of the unanimity which pervades the public mind on the subject they had met to consider. He thought the persons who had called that meeting had determined to act upon the advice given by the chairman in his opening remarks, when they asked him (Mr Fraser) to propose a resolution. A resolution ho would propose was not likely to be of a revolutionary nature. He had had no hand in drawing it up, but he thought it was framed iu such a cautious and temperate spirit, as to recommend itself to the acceptance of all those who are inclined to act fairly and impartially. The resolution was as follows: —

“That this meeting is emphatically of opinion that the action of the Government in requiring the employees on the public railways to wortc overtime on week days without pay is not only an injustice to the men, hut tends seriously to the detriment of the public interests; and also that the compulsory services required to be performed by the men on Sundays is contrary to all justice to those who are in, the service of the government, and is likewise against public policy and the customs of people who have been educated with a belief that Sunday should be observed as a day of rest in every sense of the word. “That the Government be requested to ap point a commission to enquire into these matters as also other grievances which seriously affect the success of the public service as con ncctcd with the railways in this part of the colony.” The resolution, he thought, had threi different parts. The first bore mainly on tin question of wages and the demand for working overtime throughout the week. He wouh say that he thought that those who were ii Government employment, just as any othei men, should be expected to do any ext-u work when J/here was the necessity lor it,

and he considered that any sudden refusal to do extra work on an emergency would be good ground for dismissal of the employee who refused. But while he admitted this on the one hand, on the other hand he contended that the extra work should be paid for. It should not be imagined for a moment that there was any objection on the part of the railway employees to work overtime. The fact was recognised by them that in the absence of other means, the railways must be utilised to the utmost extent for the public convenience, and that the duty of every man connected with the department was to help to thus utilise them. But it was out of all reason and fairness to say that the men are to stay on hour after hour and get nothing for it. All that was asked for it was a fair and reasonable allowance. They did not require to trespass upon any political ground there, but he might be permitted to say that the time had been when the Railway Department was conducted in a satisfactory manner. They would all remember who it was that brought in fresh arrangements which created great dissatisfaction. Formerly, the employees had one Sunday out of three, and he, for his part, was so satisfied with that arrangement that he could rejoice in it, and could make use of the railway on the Sunday as on the Saturday, for he felt that the men had an opportunity of spending their time on Sunday as their consciences required. They were paid for three Sundays and worked only on two; the third Sunday he considered paid for their overtime. The alteration in that system was the beginning of their sorrows, was the thin edge of the present system which required men to work overtime and not be paid for it, and work on Sunday and not bo paid for if. The next point in the resolution was that of the compulsory services on the Sunday. He liked the very cautious manner in which this part of the resolution had been drawn up. He.would not be inclined on that platform to argue this question on religious grounds but would only say to a meeting of that kind that he found here strong evidence of the truth of Christianity, because the fact affirmed in the resolution, that the nonobservance of the day of rest was against public policy, showed that the Sabbath was adapted to meet the necessities of human society ; and that the sanction for the day of rest and quiet must have come from the same hand that fashioned man himself. It was well that they should take the plain and common ground that they had a right to the day of rest. There was one point in which religion touched upon this part of the question, namely, that it practically made it compulsory on a man to work on Sunday, and so interfered with his religious convictions by saying in effect—“ We don’t want men who have religious convictions.” I t was not fair thus to say to the employees, “ AVhat are your opinions on the Sunday question ? If you are not with us, we say you must go away.” He remembered hearing or reading somewhere of a certain facetious man in the last century, who in a time of religious excitement and riots, wrote upon his door, “No religion here.” It was, however, a most unfair thing to require the railway employees to adopt the same motto. He confessed that there were some advantages in this proposal to have extra Sunday work when it was needed, but they did not commend themselves to him. Suppose the work of the railways to be blocked up in the busy season like that which was now coming on, it was said, then let Jack and Tom and Harry work on Sunday and get us out of our difficulty. If there was a blunder made —he did not say that there ever was a blunder made in the working of the department —but if a block was caused, the blame of it could be thrown upon the working man. He would say to the authorities—" Be more liberal with your trucks; bring your work up to the mark required for the public convenience, and you will not require to shunt your mistakes on to other men, and make them pay for them.” The only advantage of Sunday work was to help people out of difficulties of that kind; but he thought the better way was to keep out of the difficulties. He now came to the last part of the resolution. It was not an attack upon any person or department, nor was it meant as any dictation to Government. It simply asked the Government to look into the matter and to relieve the men from an act of injustice and from being subject to what was practically a religious test, a test of conscience. At the same time they had indicated their opinions upon two questions. The resolution had a mt Bt important bearing on the wages question. If they got a man to work for them for six days,* they must pay him enough to keep him on the seventh, but this was an attempt to compel men to work for seven days and for extra hours on each day, for the same allowance which had been agreed upon as a fair wage for six days’ work. If it was wished to make a reduction in wages let it be said so fairly, and the employees could then look about them elsewhere. This was simply an attempt to grind them down. It seemed to him that there was nothing in the resolution that could be fairly objected to, and he would have some difficulty in discovering on what ground it could be opposed. He concluded by moving the resolution. [Cheers.] Mr Francis, though fortunately no longer a railway employee, had much pleasure in seconding the resolution. He said fortunately, because he knew how things were going on in the department, and felt bound to help his fellow men in their struggle for right and justice. The speaker then animadverted upon the new code of rules which he characterised as very good on paper, but impracticable, one sided, unfair and unjust. The empl yees should have been consulted before being compelled to submit to them. Only three had refused, and they had been dismissed, the others for the sake of their wives and families had submitted. Mr Francis detailed various instances of hardship, of which the only way to prevent a repetition was the appointment of a commission. Mr Treadwell spoke in favour of the resolution, and moved as an addition to it “ that it be a recommendation to the Government that the whole of New Zealand shall be classified for railway purposes, and that in each locality the people shall elect a board of ' management.” Mr Stevens had been favored with an invi tation to attend the meeting, and had done so with pleasure. He would very brietly glance at the first part of the first resolution. He thoroughly agreed with all that had been said as to the impolicy of expecting extra work to be done without adequate compensation. There could not be two opinions about that. There was a point to which he wished however to make special reference. This is that it is desirable that a commission shall be appointed by Government to inquire into the matter, exclusive of the extra overtime. During the whole of the

time that he had been their representative in Wellington he had been deluged with complaints, both verbal and written, coining not from one source only, nor from persons acting in collusion with each other, but from each department of the service or from nearly all. When he found so many complaints made to him as a public man he could not help thinking that so much smoke was an indication of the existence of tire. He felt strongly that as there was so much discontent, it was to the interest of the whole community that the Government should appoint this commission, and that an impartial enquiry should be made into these grievances. That, opinion he had entertained for some time. It was entirely a question for the Government, and it was no part of the business of a representative to appoint commissions. The Government, however, could not be compelled to do so, unless when the Parliament was sitting, when pressure could be brought to bear upon them. He would content himself with saying that he thoroughly concurred with the resolution, and that he sincerely hoped, in the interest of this community, that the Government would see their way to appoint the commission asked for. He would not say anything as to the manner in which the railways should be administered. That was a question which he did not suppose that meeting intended to go into. It was a very large one. The Chairman put the resolution which was unanimously agreed to. The Rev. E. Penny moved the following resolution—“ That the Chairman be requested to sign the above resolution on behalf of this meeting and to forward the same to the Colonial Secretary for the consideration of the Government.” He spoke of the advantages to be derived from the observance of the day of rest and of the sad results often arising from a too long continued strain upon men’s energies, and concluded by declaring his belief that there should be six fair days’ labour and six fair days’ work in the week. Mr Anderson had great pleasure in seconding the resolution, for he believed in extra remuneration for long hours and for Sunday labour. He did not recollect even in the old country a demand being made upon the working man such as the present Government were making. He thought it very wrong that they should attempt to screw down poor hard working men to do more work than they were paid for. The speaker referred to the action taken by the Lyttelton Harbor Board and the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce with reference to the question of Sunday labor. If the Government persisted in the course it was now pursuing it would be necessary for the public of Canterbury to hold more meetings of that kind to urge upon them the impropriety of the policy they had adopted. The Chairman, before putting the resolution, spoke with regret of the absence from the platform of many public men who had taken the question up elsewhere so warmly. He was, however, fully satisfied with the large attendance in the hall. The resolution was then agreed to unanimously.

The Chairman ruled that Mr Treadwell’s addition to the first resolution could not be put to the meeting, as it was foreign to the object the meeting was called to consider. “

A vote of thunks to the chairman, proposed by Mr Fraser, and carried with acclamation, concluded the meeting.