RAILWAY ENQUIRY.

Hokitika Guardian, 18 June 1924, Page 4

RAILWAY ENQUIRY.

I’KOC'EKDIXGS OI'KXKL). AYKI.IINOTi iX. ’.June U'j. The l)D;inl of inquiry set up by the Minister of Hr. i I ways to inquire into ami make Voiommeinlatioiis upon the rail's of pay and conditions of employment in the second division of the railway service, commenced its local sittings at the Supreme Court this morning. The hoard consists of members of tiie Arbitraion Court (Mr Justice Frazer, Messrs W. Scott and IT. Hunter), with Air J. 'Mason (first assistant general manager of railways'), and Air Af. .T. A Tack (secretary of the Amalgamated Society Hailway Servants) as additional assessors. Mr 11. 11. Sterling is ruminating the case for the Hail way Department and Air Af. J. Connelly for tile railwayman. The evidence "ill he hugely on the same lines as that adduced at the previous wages inquiry. Although the order of reference permits the hoard to sit at such places as it thinks fit. it is likely Dm proceedings v.ill 1;o enrn(ined to AVellington. Tim whole of the original seventytwo demands submitted hy the A.S.H.S. arc under consideration, with modifications in sonic particulars. Tn opening the case fer the Society, Air Connelly said that the whole trend of legislation in Xew Zealand during Dm pa.d ten years had been to reduce the hours of work and improve the standard of living for the workingmen. He quoted from the Year Hook to show that out of fortv-one trades in New Zealand. IT were working a 'H-hours’ week or less: I I were working 13 hours or more, and JO were working between .fl j,nd IS hours. The tendency since IDII had been to reduce the hours of work and not extend them.

The fact that the Department had sought to place the railway-men on a longer working week, he submitted, was a confession of its inability or incapahlencss of managing, the railways properly and running them efficiently’ and economically in the interests of the Dominion. He referred to ihe fact that the Department had a monopoly of railway transport, and that it did not have to pay dividends to shareholders. He went on to deal separately with the three branches of railwaywork. in the workshops, traffic, and maintenance offices. f I he workshops were granted a •! t-liour week in IDIS. three years before the other members of the service. That was an indication that the Department reeognisd that the conditions of the workshops men were exactly the same as those obtaining outside the railway service. The hours worked l.y the New Zealand railwnvmen compared most unfavourably with those obtaining in the Australian service. In trades outside the service jo the Dominion, all overtime work done in excess ol the hours specified in the awards counted as overtime which was paid for at the rate <M time and a. half for Cue first four hours and double thereafter. Air Connelly said that the railway

superannuation scheme was regarded by Ihe men as a curse, not as a privilege. They were in the position of a milking anv' for the benefit of employees who were in a higher salary grade. I lie main claim of tile society was that the •tl-houis working week which hitherto had existed in the railway service should he restored without any reditctiou being m«d.' in the present weekly rates of pay. Air Sterling opened the Department's case by congratulating Mr Connelly on tiie presentation of hi> side ol the argument, which had been put clearly and well and without recrimination. He said that what tile society asked was the reinstatement of ihe tortv-iour-hour week at the present weeklyrates of pay. This was equivalent to asking for an increase of 7s fid a week on the basic wage, with corresponding increases on other men. This would cost about £- KI.O.'H on basic wage men and there would he a possible incrc.isf; ol £.’.To.(!3ih Mr Coyneily hail said the iiicre-no in the cost of living was l>2 per cent last February. The rate pc’hour in ID I I was Is lid. which at w?. per vent increase should now he 1> fJ.t-Od —£•! 7- (id a week. Alen were now- gelling £1 7s Id. so there wool 1 l e little dili’erencc in the two amounts. The average nay of the whole of the railway trail' in i"d ! was £1 10. ami last year it was £-_*:!3, an increase of 01 per cent, in so far as the present, matter rested on complications arising from ihe cost of living, he contended the men were g'-tting all they were entitled to. The Department was anxious time the men should have a fair standard or living, 1 lit opinions dilfored as to what was a fair standard. Hr thought that if railwayman got as great oi great or wav" than other basic wage earner.-, they could not lie said to he receiving ton little. The basic wage in the Hailway' Service was Is D 111-! Id per hour, and the latest award of the Arbitration Court was Is Dd. .Mr Hunter: That outside rale is the minimum, and labourers nie getting IN*, nii hour and over. Mr Sterling: I am quite aware that I!netuatioi.s outside may Air Alack: Hut is not that railway rate the maximum? Air Sterling: I will < cone to that later. He proposed to show that the man otit-ide was not better oil than tin* railwayman. The railwayman was relieved of two bugbears of the mail

outside, fear of employment not being permanent, and fear of an indigent old ago. Those wore more than sntlicient offset to any little more the outside man might get occasionally. The extent to v.hicli the higher rate might he paid outside fluctuated considerably with the degrees of the prosperity of the times. The railwayman had his superannuation. which. despite what. Mr Connelly said, was a privilege a'ml an extremely valuable one. Last

rear the Government contribution tvns £120,000, and this year it would not he less. Arnreover, the Government stood behind the fund and guaranteed it, so that the men’s pensions were absolutely secured. It was absolutely wrong to say that the basic wage worker made the saino contribution to superannuation ns the higher paid man. Air Connelly: The General Manager only retires on superannuation of £IBOO a year. The president said that a man who came into the scheme after IDO9 might lie paying on a basts of a pension and get only a £3OO pension. Mr Connelly: The basic, wage worker cannot afford to make bis payment. The president: It is a percentage payment. Mr Connelly: Our men are on a living wage. The other men are not on the bread line. Air sterling said the Department had round that in one year men got passes and privilege tickets tn the value of £1 19,000.

Air Alack: Are you prepared to concede the men the money? Air Sterling said he was not there to commit the Department. The subject had not been raised in the claiimi. He said that 2.1 per cent of the men were provided with houses hy the Department and the average rent was 8s a week. In no case did a man pay more than a day’s wage for his house. If the Department wore a private landlord it could get twice as much for Die houses. Alany of the later houses were very up-to-date. In one recent vein- £IO.OOO had boon spent on uniforms. This amount was saved to the men. These things placed railway-men in an advantageous position ill comparison with men outside. He did not think the education test was a hardship in a country- where education was free, and he thought the medical tost was necessary in such a service. lie was entitled to claim that a ease had not 'been made out for an increase in pay, as railwnvnion were now getting more than Dm Arbitration Court’s basic rate, and in addition they enjoyed Die privileges mentioned. By comparison with other railway services the rate paid to workers in’ the Xew Zealand sen-ice was very favourable. 'l'lie hearing will be resumed to-mor-row. DEI’A RTAI ENT'S COUNTER. CHATAfS. AYEIJ.IXGTON. June IG. The Bail way Department has prepared a number of counter claims Tor presentation to the board of. inquiry, of which the following is a summary: - Elimination »!' payment of special rates for night work in traffic brunch which docs not come within overtime hours: elimination <J the provision foliate and a half payment to maintenance men between (i p.m. mid (i a.m.: ordinary time worked in locomotive workshops between 9 p.m. and (i a.m. to he paid for at ordinary rates; time worked on Sunday as part ol the ordinary working week to he paid for at ordinary rates: double rale of payment on Sovereign's birthday. Haliour Day. Good Friday and Christmas Day to he regarded as sufficient remuneration, am! that the practice of adding to minimi leave ho discontinued; tlio special allowance paid to horse drivers engaged in shunting duties to he discontinued: maximum proportion of apprentices to journeymen in workshops to he increased.