Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 1900, Railway v. Post Office.

Manawatu Herald, 12 June 1900, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 1900, Railway v. Post Office.

I Last seuion of parliament a petition I dealing with thfc position of the Railway servAnte »f compared with that of fche Postal bfltofala was presented very late in the session and thus has been held over for the Railway committee to deal with this year. It i« evident to everyone that both seti of officers have very important duties to attend to, as in the postal department large sums of money pass through the hands 6f the postmasters that they nave become practically the people's bankers, and thus the men so employed must be worthy of all confidence, and entitled to a fair remuneration. On the other hand though the actual money may not be so large that passes through a stationmaster's office, he has many responsibilities, the greatest being the care of the lives of the passengers travelling by train, as a carelessness on his part might result in much loss of life. These officials seem to be equally important and as. fairly entitled to a just remuneration. Taking the duties of both we cannot say. that the sums paid in salaries bear a proper equivalent to what might be earned in other capacities. This is not, however, the object of the petitioners which is to compare the salaries now paid to them as compared to those paid to postmasters. If their statements are correct, which we do not doubt, the average salaries paid to Postmasters is £213 14s Bd, and that to Stationmasters £168 2s 6d per annum. To quote an instance that is given in the petition will be enough to show the ground* work of the diisfttiifiwtion existing

in the Railway service. The postmasters at Feilcling, Marton, and Hawera are paid salaries equal to those paid to Stationmasters at Dunedin and Ohristchurch, and £50 more than those paid to Stationmasters at Wellington and Auckland. The danger to the public in thcr giving what is considered an inadequate payment for services rendered, is that an inferior class of boys are offering for cadetships which must result in the deterioration in the calibre of the staff in future years. The- petitioners pray that step 3 may be taken so that the salaries of the Chief Railway Officers shall be more on an equal footing with the salaries paid to .managing officers holding similar positions in the Railway Services of the Austra* lian Colonies ; and that the stationmasters and clerical staff of the Railway Department shall not be less efficiently remunerated than are the postmasters and clerical staff of the Post and Telegraph.