THE RAILWAY STRIKE

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2338, 30 September 1881, Page 3

THE RAILWAY STRIKE

accordance with arrangement, a deputation 0f I on strike from the railway workshops met Mr Maxwell, the General Manager of kail' ways, at the station this morning. Messrs J. Joyce, H. Thompson, and W. White, junior, wore m attendance, but Mr Maxwell declined to receive any but the men and the representatives j® two morning journals. Mr Maxwell declined to see Mr Joyce and the other gentlemen on the ground that he was not authorised to receive public deputations on this subject. But if it was intimated to him that any such deputation 'Y ilB -“. 08 . lr ° nß of seeing him, he would request * rwT’*v B*er 8 * er an *horiae him to receive it. On the deputation being introduced by Mr Hannay, Maxwell said ha had received a request to meet the men, and he was now there to hear w hat they had to say on the subject. ■j *w a fP s k aw * ? member of the deputation, said that they considered they were unfairly and unjustly paid as compared with outside shops. They had individually and collectively asked for an advance to make them on a level with the labor market elsewhere. They had received the following answer “ There is no money in the country ; if I give it to you, I must do it to all.” They had, therefore, adopted their present course, and had sent la a respectfully worded petition with the ultimatum that they would cease work after a week. A notice was posted in the shops to the effect that any man who had coerced the men to sign the naper might at once leave the Government employ, and would not be employed again. Mr Allison Smith asked that Mr Maxwell would read the notice referred to. Mr Maxwell said he had done so. Mr Earnshaw said that not one man had been coerced into signing the petition. . phalmers said ho desired to call the attention of Mr Maxwell to the fact that the reduction of outside shops had been quoted as against the proposed increase, but the private shops had not been reduced so long as they had. Another member of the deputation pointed oat that the reduction, so far from being 4£ per cent, or 5 per cent., was some 7 per cent., up to 20 per cent. This was the fact. Another member said that nil they required was justice. The Government had said they would pay the same rate as was paid outside. Now they knew in many shops in Christchurch 12s per day was paid. Of course it was very difficult to compare the work done in the Addington shops with the outside shops. He might mention that in the foundry where engines for the Victorian Government were manufactured the wages were 11s per diem and some at 12s. Mr Eden read the following statement of wages paid outside :—Anderson’s Foundry—One leading hand at 13s per day, smith at 12s, one turner at 12s, one one fitter at 11s, P, and D. Duncan’s— One fitter 12s, one smith 12s, two fitters 13s, and a few more smiths at 11s. Scott’s FoundryOne smith at 12s, fitters not lower than 10s. Moor and Son’s—One smith at 12s, and two at 11s. Mr Howland—Two at 12s. Mr Jonestwo at 11s. Ware and Jones, Lyttelton—Two at 12s. He desired now to point out that these were only a few cases they had become aware of. One of the members of the deputation said that a man had left here and gone over to Melbourne, whore ha was now getting 11s 6d per day, while here only 10s Cd was the highest. Another member of the deputation said that he was deputed by the smiths’ shop to say that they had never been coerced into signing the paper. Mr Chalmers said that it was the general opinion of the whole shop that the matter would never culminate in a strike. Had they thought this they would never have signed the paper. Why it was signed was to bring the matter to an issue, and that there was no thought that the signing of the paper would have led to the present state of things. Another of the deputation said that the foreman had told them they could go if they liked, and that plenty of men could be procured. Mr Maxwell said that he should like to know whether the men had anything further to say before replying. A member of the deputation said that they considered that they, as well as others engaged in the service of the Government, felt they should receive a fair rate of increase.

Mr Maxwell said that he would now, if the members of the deputation had completed what they desired to say to him, note in passing the various points raised at the interview, and give his reply on each. First, then, the petition stated that the men signing it had been subjected to reduction in the rate of their wages during a time of great embarrassment. He had, when he saw this statement, taken the trouble to go over the names of the men signing the document containing that statement, which was put forward as a reason for their action, and what did he find ? Why that out of the thirty- ' two fitters who had signed this petition eighteen ! were either comparatively new hands, recently taken on, or who had never been subjected to 1 any reduction whatever. These men, therefore, had no reason whatever to put their names to a i statement that they had been subjected to a re- i duction in pay in a time of embarrassment. | Mr Earnshaw said he desired to speak with ; regard to the remark jnst made by Mr ( Maxwell. It was no doubt correct from one point of view, but it was capable of being ■ explained from another. Ho would show Mr , Maxwell, from a list of wages paid, that a reduc- : tion had taken place to a large extent. Mr 1 Earnshaw then read a statement of reductions which had occurred, to show that the men had been reduced. The statement has already been published. Mr Maxwell said that they misunderstood him. He did not deny that reductions had been made by the Government in the railway workshops, as well as in other departments of the Government, and in this they were only following the example of other employers of labour. Of course the men looked at this question from their own particular standpoint as to how it affected their wages, whether they were fitters, strikers, or what not. But he desired to point out this to them—that in dealing with a question of wages the Government could not take this narrow view of the matter. They must consider it in relation to the whole of the service. The present strike comprised some seventy men out of the whole Railway Department, in which there some 3000 employes in all. He was quite willing to consider any individual cases which were brought before him, but in the present instance he must take the department as a whole, because, as he had before stated, the point in dispute was one regarding the rate of pay. When in October of last year the determination was arrived at to reduce the rate of pay, the position of matters was as follows:—On the Canterbury, Otago, and general Government railways elsewhere different, and in some cases very inequitable rates of pay existed; men who had been for some time in the service were working long hours—in some cases so many as fourteen hours per diem—for under £2 per week. This they would admit was a great injustice. It therefore became apparent that a necessity existed for a revision of the scale of wages, and that the employes throughout the colony should be placed upon a more equitable basis as regarded the rates of pay existing in the various parts. The Government found on enquiry that they were unable, from the special features surrounding it, to treat the Railway Department in the same way as regarded the adjustment of the reductions proposed as tho_ other departments of the Civil Service. This was_ because in no other part of the Civil Service did such disparities in rates exist. Therefore it became necessary that a special rate of pay should bo instituted for the Railway Department. It had been made a great point during the present movement that the rate of pay at the Addington workshops was not so high as in those of private employers. There might be, and doubtless were, special cases in Christchurch, and perhaps elsewhere, in which higher rates were paid, but as a whole it would be found—and ho had caused very careful enquiries to be made that the Government workshop men were getting a higher rate of wages than those outside. Again, he desired to draw their attention to this fact, that there was no intention at the time this scale came into force that it should bo merely a temporary one. Even allowing that it were so, what would have been the result? The result of this would be, that they would have reverted to the old state of things. But, as ho had said, the old state of things was so unsatisfactory, that no one could have contemplated returning to it. Another thing was, that when the scale came into force in March last, there were no less than 350 employes whose services had been dispensed with. How, then, could the Government bo expected to pay higher wages to those who remained after the number of men to which he had referred to had been dispensed with. Now, as to the point made by the deputation with reference to the higher rates of wages said to be obtainable in Australia. He said it was not right that the rate of wages in Australia should rule them here. If men could get a better rate of pay there than here, let them go. Bat if they quoted the Axistralian rates of pay as affecting us here, ho might jnst as well quote the rates ruling at Home, on the Tyne and elsewhere, which, as they well knew, were very much lower than they received here. No Government, hovevor, could wish to see Home rates introduced here, the circumstances being so different. He did not for a moment desire to quote the rates of pay at Home, because, he contended, it had nothing whatever to do with them here. At the same time, if he did not quote Home rates, he thought they should not quote Australian. Another point why there should not be a change in the present scale was, that the country could not afford it. The railways, he desired them to remember, were for the convenience of the country, for the development of its natural resources by the carriage of grain, goods, &c., at economical rates, and they were not for the benefit of the employes_ or any one else in the Government service. * The colony depended largely for its prosperity

on the carriage of its produce, more especially thia part of it, which was essentially a farming community, and the Government must carry it as economically as possible. Already, as they knew, there were complaints as to the rates existing for the carriage ot grain, &c. If, however, the railway employes were to bo paid at a higher rate than at present, the Government could not afford to give the farming community especially and the general public that amount of concession in rates which seemed to be considered necessary, and the community as a whole would suffer. The Government and himself had, amongst other o look at this question from the point of how it would incrv«.nu the general cast ot the working ot the

railways, «uu vuoy had come to the conclusion that the colony was unable to afford it. Mow, aa to the remark that the petition was a respectful one. This might be so, but he considered it a most imprudent one. [A Voice— • Jit was not intended to be disrespectful at all.”J They hau b abjJ tnst no pressure hod been brong car on them to induce them to sign.it. Ho was very glad to hear this. Of course, in these times of excitement, it was extremely likely that pressure might be brought to boar, and ho was very glad to hoar that it had not been done. The men must have known, however, that the very strongest warning that could be had been given to them, and yet in the face of that they had placed themselves in a false position. He had therefore to tell them distinctly—and he was very sorry indeed that he had to do so—that ho could not recommend the Government to make any change in the present rates of their pay, and tl is must be considered as distinctly concluding the matter. One of the members of the deputation said that he dissented from the answer of Mr Max* well that a fair rate of wages was paid. As regarded the colony not being able to afford it, be desired to point out that advances had been made in the salaries of some of the officials in the civil service. It was true that in some cases there had been a combination of offices, but in others an increase had been received, and why should not they proportionately receive one too ? Another thing, Mr Hall had said in the Honso that the Government were willing to give the men in the railway workshops the _ same rate of pay as that obtainable by the men in the outside shops. They challenged the department to this, as it was proved by the figures read that they were not now in this position. They would be willing to meet Mr Ball on this point, and if they received the same rate of pay as the men outside they would be perfectly content. Mr Maxwell said, aa regarded the increase in salaries referred to, he would point ont that the cost of management of the railways at the Wellington office had been reduced by 25 per cent., and at the district offices by 25 per cent., which showed conclusively that, eo far from increases, redactions had been made. Mr Earnshaw asked whether Mr Maxwell would agree to a commission being appointed to enquire into the whole matter. Mr Maxwell said this was a question with which he had nothing whatever to do. It was for the Minister to say whether or not the Government would agree to a commission being appointed. They had now his final answer, and unless they desired to say anything more the matter was ended. The deputation then retired, and subsequently a private meeting was held at the Oddfellows’ Hall, Montreal street sonth.