P. & T. OFFICERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 2 May 1924, Page 4

P. & T. OFFICERS.

CLAIMS FOR INCREASED

SALARIES

POSTMASTER-GENERAL’S (REPLY

WELLINGTON, April 27

The Postmaster-General made the following statement to a deputation from the executive of the Post anti Telegraph Officers’ Association this afternoon :

The salary schedules, which it was proposed should apply to officers of the Post and Telegraph Department from the Ist iust., and which were referred to the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association, were not regarded by its representatives as satisfactory, and tie Association recently submitted oilier schedules. The Postmaster-Gen-eral, after carefully going into the proposals made by the Association, lias made the following statement:

It has been stated on behalf of the

Association that the schedules prepared bv that organisation have been drawn up, so as to provide for a GO per cent increase over the salaries paid in 191-1. In 191-1 message boys commenced at till per annum, and after a year's service were paid CIO per annum. The average salary paid was therefore approximately £3(5 per

annum. The Government considered that the present salary of Go” per annum, or an increase of 58 per cent over 1911. was adequate, and therefore. did not propose any higlu-r payment. The A-.s cixiion. on the other hand, claims a commencing salary ol

Iffi'i per annum, epually 111) per cent over 1911, and a salary of £7O per annum after one year’s service. The latter amount is 75 per cent above the maximum paid ten years ago. EXCHANGE ATTENDANTS.

Exchange attendants commenced at a salary of £-10 per annum in 191-1, and in the fifth year of their service were paid £2O per annum. In the schedules recently drawn up and forwarded to the Association for comment, it was proposed that an exchange attendant should receive a commencing salary of £23 per annum, equal to 107 per cent, above 19U1, and

that in the fifth year such an officer should he paid £135 per annum, or (>8 per cent above the salary paid ten years ago to an attendant in her fifth year of service. The Association, however, claims a general increase of

100 per cent on the salaries paid to exchange attendants in 1911 lor the first live years of service. GKXKHAL DIVISION.

The junior male officers ol the general division were paid a commencing salary of toll per annum in 1911. lit the sixth vear of their service they

received £IOO per annum, while they were paid £l2O per annum in theii eighth year of service. Provision was made in the Government’s recent proP .sals for those officers to commence at £7O per annum, to receive Cl M in their sixth year of service and £l9l in tlie eighth year, which equals an increase of It) per cent, IS per cent and 111 per cent respectively over salaries paid ten years ago. The Association claims a commenciiig salary ol CSO per

minimi, represen! ing an increase* ol GO per cent over 1911, a payment of £2OO in the sixth year of service, which is c-xaetlv UK) per rent more than was paid ten years ago, while it is claimed that £270 should be paid in the eighth vear of service, which means an in-

crease t>i 120 per cent over the cor responding salary laud in 1911.

( I.ERICAI. DIVISION. Ten years ago the minii salary for the clerical division was toll. In his seventh year of service an officer was paid £135, while Clot) was paid for the eighth year. The proposals placed before the Association by the Government provided lor a eommeiieing salaiy ot which means a id) per cent increase over llill, and for a payment of fill) in the seventh year, lepresen'.irg an increase 1 1 per > ••til over HUI. while nn.officer in bis eighth yeai was to be paid t : *, or "> per tent more than was paid to such an officer tell years ago. Tile proposals made hv liie Association, howeicr. provided for a commencing salary el CSA tier annum, which i-- ill per cent higher than the minimi.in sala.y in II I!. The claim is also mad-.* that an officer should receive £270 in his seventh year of serine, and L'.lit' in tin* eighth year, which represents in-crcn-es of lit and ltd per rent ir-spee-livoly, whim compared with the payments made ten years ago. THE ( LAI.MS .SUMMED UP. The adoption of the Association's proposal- would mean that in the clerical division 107 unmarried officers of approximately L’J years of age, receiving a salary of L‘2lt-"i per annum, would receive nil increase of £135 per annum ; 21 id officers of approximately 2d years of age. the large majority of whom an- unman ied, and receiving £225 per annum, would he entitled to an additional Clio per annum, while l-I) unmarried officers, receiving £19.) per annum and approximately 21 years of age, would have their salaries increased by .Cloo tier annum. The proposals also provide for Dd general division unmarried officers of approximately 22 years of age, now receiving CM- per annum, having their salaries increased by C 127 per annum, and for 20 unmarried officers approximately 21 years of age and receiving CldO per annum, to receive an additional ClOo tier annum. Il was stated recently, i n behalf of the Association, that no man of adult age giving efficient servile should receive less than Cl 10s a week. If that were agreed to, and if the schedule proposed by the Association were adapted, the additional expenditure to lie met by the Post and Telegraph Depai tnc-nt for the current financial year would he £ls 1,227. As the amount paid in salaries and wages for the last financial year was £1,8(53,421, it will he seen that the total for this year would he £2,317,051. A rough estimate. shows that if the Association’s proposals were applied to the Departments under the control of the l’lil-lie Service Cdmniie.sio!«jr, an additional expenditure for the current financial year of £350,000, approximately, would ho involved.

opi’oitTrxrnk,s fop promotion Reference lias been made by the officers ol the Association to the large number of officers who are at the maximum salary of the rank and file of the clerical division • ofi3.D. There are 130!5 officers at that salary at present. liefore an officer is eligible for promotion to the class above the rank and file of the clerical division, he must pass the contrnling officers’ ex-

nminatioii. Out of 1-168 officers eligible to for that examination, only 283 have passed. This means that 81 per cent of those officers are not prepared to sacrifice a little of their private time in order to qualify for promotion and higher salaries. Apparently they prefer to remain rank and file officers throughout their official lives. It is considered that such men would not earn more than £295 in private life, and that amount is considered an adequate payment for the services they render to 1 lie Department. It has been stated liv the Association that, outside the service a youth serves five years as an apprentice, a year or two as an improver, and is then entitled to the award rate of pay. While that may he the ease ol those who arc learning trades, the large majority of junior clerks in outside employment progress by annual increases, which may or not he quite so regular as those paid in the Department. In order that the position cl ti:o juniors might he fully understood, it is necessary to explain that the majority of officers of the Post and Telegraph Department join as me-sage hoys. Usually the brightest hoys qualify for promotion to the clerical division within two or three years of coming into the service. The less ambitious hoys are as a rule promoted to positions of postmen, mes s. ngers, etc., within a similar period. In the years gone by only about 1(1 per cent of the hoys were content to remain in tire general division. and the balance qualified for promotin'! U> the clerical division. As a result ol the maximum salary of the rank and file of the general division having been increased, there is a growing disinclination oil the part id officers to qualify for promotion to the clerical division, and in proof <>l this it might he stated Hint, although owing to a surplus of stall’ there were no promotions from the general to the clerical division lor approximately three years, there are now only 13 per cent of efeieers of the general division eligible for promotion to the clerical division. The remainder are losing their opportunities of receiving higher salaries. Apparently they are satisfied to n-iiiaiii in the general division. It is considered that the proposed maximum salary of £2lO, which is equal to £1 12V a week, is adequate remuneration for a man who is not prepared to quality for a higher salary.

In tin" foregoing remarks, reieronri is made to officers of the general division employed outside the c-iigineeriiie branch. Those employed inside that branch might perhaps he comparer with tradesmen and others employee! hv tin' various firms, while in .some instances the payment of a junior iiiec-h----anie employed outside the Department might be a little ahead of that made to one inside the Department. QUA Id Ul El) MEN WANTED.

The prospects of advaiic-eineiiL lor smart young men are iindoutedlv better than is the ease of those employed by outside firms. lteceiitlv a number of vacant positions above the rank and file were advert ised. anil although every adult qualified officer and temporary employee" was promoted. 1 la-re are still over forty vacancies which will leave' to I'etna.iii unfilled until uclditic I men qualify for promotion. Il might he added that a l ogo :t:.iu >er of junior oliicors received substantial iilcreasrs on promotion. A pproxiliinteIv a dozen eillircrs received iia-rcascs ol over L* 11 ID. It can hardly be st: i. I therelore that there are not excellent prospects of advancement lor liaise evil) are prepared It) quality. Il has been slated by the Asocsiation that ail officer might remain til a salary of £2l**l for len years. Il the officer fails to • 111 .- 1 1 i£> for promotion or is i-on-sidc -!'"e! by the IVoniot ion Hoard (on which the officers lane represeiitiil ion) as unsuitable., lor advancement. he miglu remain at tie- maximum salary for even a hinger porio I than ten ye*!:. 1i- ):■•'. u.-.u.il however. bo- a goo-l office! to (“mail, for that tom.

(bit of nu-r ill') ofil-c-i-.s re. -icily or.i----m-..led. only si:; hail c- nnidetc-d ten years at a salary of £295. Mad tho---. officers rone h"d a higher standard of efficiency they would have 7n :-n promoted at a mueh earlier date. The nm joiiiy of lllo sc rcc euitv promoted have* been five year., at lh“ maximum filiiry. while a number have served a -short.-i- period. (VIST ()F idVING BASIS. It i- observed that in 192!) when the Guverm-ni Staii.-Uriah's figures sll-i-.ved tin* 1 I.inhini-d fecal glMU.is as being 02 per cent, above.* 1911. the Association ac-c-ejitec! £32)) and £2oB nt!ie maximum of die ran!; and file >a th" i-iei-ieal and general divisions respectively. Now when the Statistician':-: figures show the load groups at -!!).03 a Live 191 I. tin- Association claims a maximum of C3-I0 tor the rank and file for the clerical division and £275 for I lie arnk and file of the general division. The Association stated that the stall's uf the banks received a bonus. The infcii-iiialioii available shows that omc.-i". in receipt of a salary of £271) or under are not paid a bonus. Whatever may have been said by a former ponunuent head that in framing the schedules of 19!:) the Department- did not take into oourielersi!ie’M the east ul living, the tael remains that an endeavour was made ai. that time to bring the salaries of officers into line with those paid in outside employment. Jt is- surely not suggested that private firms i:i 1919 were I saving similar salaries to those paid i:i 19! 1. The schedules which tin* Assoeiatinn were recently given an opiieitunity id eomnmntii'g cm v.ere drawn up t > provide f-u- id:-- payment of salaries which compared favourably v.-iili those received by clerks ami others in outside eui--ploy-meal. In spite of v.liat might lo said ! the As-oeie.tion to the contrary, the salaries proposed by the Government are nut less generous than those paid io (he men whose work c.:n ho reasonably compared with work done by officers of the Department. t* ! Saturday's "Times" Mr C.’cmihs is re-

ported as having said that the As-. 0. (nation's proposals provided for an increase of £-15 for the clerical division officers, and C4fi for the officers of the general division, based strictly on the 1>)1 I salary .schedules, plus the cost-of-living increase since that year. lhe Association's proposals were said to average £.‘lo per officer over the whole service. A- shown above, the total salaries and wages paid for tiie year ended March 31st. hist were £KSO3.. 421 lf the Association's proposals were agreed to, the expenditure on salaries and wage- during tin* current financial year would be Cfi.3lc.dol. an increase of £4ol.L’fi7. As'the permanent officers and temporary employees number 51137,. it will Ik* seen that an average increase ot £43 lis per annum lias been claimed by the Asociation. CARIN'KT'S HURRY.

In addition, stated the Minister, the general average increase to the rank and file, as proposed by the Department was oil per cent, a'mve 1314. whereas the average general increase under the P. and !'. Asoetatiou s proposals was 33 per rent, over 101-1. As protnsied. he had placed the whole position before Cabinet, and Cabinet had asked hint to convey to the Association the view that Cabinet is not prewired to further consider the requests of the P. and T. officers until the present difficulty in connexion with the railwaymen is out of the way. That was about ail he could say at the moment.