MANAWATU POSTAL OFFICERS.

Shannon News, 23 March 1928, Page 4

MANAWATU POSTAL OFFICERS.

ANNUAL REUNION HELD IN

LEVIN.

VISIT OF MR LINKLATER, M.P,

The annual rc-union of the Manawatu section of the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association, the second to be held in Levin, took place in the Druids ’ Hall-on Saturday night. It.was attended by some/ 50 members from Palmers'ton North, Foxton, Shannon, Levin, and Otaki, and a very enjoyable time was spent. Th 6 gathering was presidedovcr by Mr Whitehead, chairman of the Manawatu branch, who welcom ed the Mayor of Levin (Mr T. Hobson), Mr J. Linklater, M.P., Mr J. A. Smith, A.M.I.E.E. (representing the Horowhenua Power Board), and Mr H. 11. Brown, the Association’s organiser.

TOAST* OF PARLIAMENT. The toast of “The Parliament of New - Zealand’’ was proposed by the Mayor, who said that this was an institution which all responsible citizens tried to uphold and to honour and, obey. In" Parliament it was necessary to have opposition. He asked his hearers to remember that a government was only human. The present Prime Minister was a New Zealander and a farmer, and therefore had all his sympathy. Mr Coates had a hard row to hoe to work things out so that the country would be run economically and at the same time in the interests of all sections of the community. The speaker had expressed the hope to the late Mr Massey; that as Prime Minister he would secure such a majority that he would be able to pass any measure that he might bring before Parliament. Mr Coates had now obtained that majority, and the speaker hoped that the Premier was trying to do his best for New Zealand.. They must have, an opposition that would, criticise the Government’s actions—-hot always destructively but in such a way as to show how to right any wrong they were criticising. Mr Linklater was ,a man to admire —a gentleman in every sense of the word. The visitors from the northern end of this district might claim that, they were living in the garden of Eden, but he would remind them of the support which they received'from the outlying portions. It had been said that the New Zealand Parliament yanked more 'than favourably with parliaments in other countries. His Worship paid a tribute to the Speaker of the-House for the able manner in which he had ruled the business of the Chamber. He then asked those present to drink the toast with enthusiasm. Mr Linklater, in responding, thanked the gathering for the way in which the toast had been received. He realised what a nuisance a member of Parliament was to the telegraph staff, and he appreciated very much the consideration and courtesy shown him by all sections of the service. He was very pleased to join with them round the festive board. It was quite true that he was a farmer, but'he realised that town and country should work together in this country because one could not get on without the other. He thanked the gathering very much for the. manner in which the toast had been honoured, and assured them that if he could do anything in Parliament to help the P. and T. Officers’ Associ T ation he would use his earnest endeavours to do it. THE ASSOCIATION.

The toast of “The P. and T. Officers’ Association” was proposed by Mr J. T. Martin, who said this was an important subject because the organisation was one which acted as a lever against any Parliament that might have power in New Zealand. He did not refer to ' an employees’ institution of a Bolshe- ! vist character, but a union which would strive to get its members the benefits which . they required. This would be the last time he would propose this toast, as he - had only one more year to spend in the service, which’lie joined 39 years ago in Greymouth. Mr Martin besought the members to regard seriously the notices call: ing them to meetings, so that they mighi have an active interest in the proceedings of the Association. Their, organisation was the stone on which they stood. Once the Association was cut out, one man would be fight ng anr other, and they would get nowhere. When he joined 36 years ago they got no promises at all, but were told that when the Association became strong enough they might be recognised. This statement was fulfilled during the regime of Sir Joseph Ward. He ashed the gathering to honour the toast in the most genuine spirit. ■ Mr Brown, in responding, said, that he wished to thank the members for the hearty-way in which they had drunk their own* toast, because, after all, they were the Association. He knew that. when he came amongst them their chief concern was to know .how- they stood in the Department in regard to their economic welfare. lie was convinced there were few members of the Department or of the public who knew the volume of (business transacted iii the Department; and he gave some interesting quotations under this head, which will be published later. He contended that the Department was not working on strictly commercial lines, because there was no business institution in the Dominion to-day that was rendering services or selling commodities ft* cheaply as in 1914, whereas this Department was again providing penny postage, While the volume of business dealt with by the Department had increased by 212 per ccnt.j the increase in the staff was only 47 per cent. This meant that men and women in the service to-day were called upon to perform more work, individually and collectively, than they had ever been called on- to perform in the history of the Department. Throughout the Dominion the service was *ecogaisdd as highly efficient; several visitors with wide experience abroad had placed it o». record that the standard of. efficiency ot the Post Office in New Zealand was on. ft par with anything of the kind in the world- It was his . privilege to address siicjr g&tfcer-

ings as this throughout the. Dominion, . and, generally speaking, there were re- I presentatives of Parliament, of com- I merce and of municipalities present, and he had never yet been to a function of this kind where there had not been some reference to the efficiency of the members of the Postal Department. Touching again on financial matters, Mr Brown said that the proportion of the labour cost to the revenue of the Department in 1914 was 51 per cent., and, in 1926 it was 46 per cent. If the former percentage had been paid in salaries last year, there' would have been £155,1)00. more to distribute, in which case every member of the service, irrespective of grades, would have received a £2(l bonus. Therefore, it might be said that a portion of the surplus was made up out of a depleted salary account. The Standard of efficiency in the Department had increased to a remarkable extent, and yet the workers were no better off. It was an economic axiom in business now 'that if an industry was to be made a success, encouragement must be given in the way of remuneration to the workers engaged in it. The speaker referred to Mr Ford in America and Mr Morris in England as examples of men who had become prosperous through the manner in which they had treated their employees. The men in. the postal service should be treated as well as if they were in the service of private em: ployers. The Association had put to the Government many pleas to have the pre-war standard restored, but had been repeatedly turned down. As long as they went to the Government asking for a restoration of the pre-war standard, they would not get very far. The leason was that the Government had become so familiar with these repeated requests that it was treating them with the contempt born of familiarity. He had come to the conclusion that a different method would have to be adopted, and that was that they should make a claim on the Government on a comparative basis; discover a body of men engaged in work comparable with theirs, and ask the Government that they be remunerated on a similar scale. Australia had economic eohditions similar to those obtaining in New Zealand, and a comparison of the conditions of the postal workers would be reasonable. Mr Brown proceeded to quote figures showing various rates of pay in the Commonwealth service. It would be possible, he said, to show that the Government here was not paying wages in this service which.corresponded with those paid in Australia. If-Mr Linklater could do anything in the House to improve the conditions, the speaker trusted that h» would do so. There were, married men on the permanent staff who had been employed for periods of from 10 to 20 years who were getting £240 per annum —men with children dependent on them. EFFICIENCY METHODS. Mr Brown added that there were serious times ahead for members of the service,. The Department recently had adopted a policy of expecting from the members of the service 100 per cent, efficiency. Employees had been warned that if they did not “buck up” they would be brought under the provisions of Regulation 124, which meant that they would be charged with inefficiency and probably dismissed. Some of the juniors had had their increments stopped, and in one or two eases men had been dismissed. This was a serious position for the service to be in. He. was not going to say that every officer was a 100 per cent, efficient man. It was only reasonable to expect that in a staff of over seven thousand there were some men who would not attain the highest standard of the warnings sent out as though the organisation was not an efficient one. He had not found any other Department that had been subjected to the treatment recently served out to the Postal Department. There was nothing radically wrong with the Department. In conclusion Mr Brown remarked that no case of betterment of labour conditions anywhere in the world had ever been brought about by the employers of labour voluntarily, but had come through organised effort on the part of the workers. He advised the postal workers not to do anything drastically, but to take a logical attitude, in which case right would win in the end. THE DEPARTMENT. The toast of, and Telegraph Department’’ was proposed by Mr Linklater, M.P., who said he could not be expected to reply on this uecaslon to Mr Brown’s remarks, because ihere were'figures which would have to be gone into; but he could say this, that if any injustice had been done and he could do anything to right it, he was going to do so. One of the most recent advances in the development of the Department was the extension of the telephone service between the two Islands. He had rung-up Palmerston North from Greymouth, and was amazed at the clarity of speech. The automatic telephones, which were gradually being installed throughout New Zealand, provided a very fine service indeed, The Department was doing a great work for rural requirements; there was-now a post-box at the far-

mer’s gate and he appreciated the privilege very much. The duplication of the Pacific cable between British Columbia and Suva was another important development, The use of radio was increasing, and it would no doubt become a great adjunct to the cable services pa time went on. He was verypleased to have the opportunity of proposing this toast. The response was made by Mr B. Magee, postmaster at Devin, who remarked that, like Mr Martin, he was nearing the end of his term of service. He had been rather astounded at the figures given by Mr Brown in regard to revenue. As to the conditions of the Department, some of those present might thipk that Mr Martin had been pessimist,ioj but some of the older officers were behind the scenes to a certain extent, and he: knew that the criticism, which Mr Brown had given yas quite in order and not overdrawn, rhe cc-’ditlons in the’ next few--years-

were likely to.be worse for the-officers. The placing of a telephone cable across Cook Strait would probably affect telegraphic business. Independently of this extension, there had been a falling away in the telegraph branch, and senior officers must suffer in consequence. Next year was regrading year, and it was this falling-off that made them wonder what v>'s going to happen. The younger officers had been advised by the Department to study for examina tions. If they looked around other Departments they would find that the : men who passed examinations forged ahead. There had been congestion in the rank and file of the service, and probably the Department was glad to be relieved of 7 the services of some of the higher-paid men who were nearing the end of their terms. The administration was erring on the side of severity, and unless there was some change, officers would find themselves in a worse position than at present. He would like to know of any office in the district where the officers in charge had not been called to task lately. The fact that an officer might be a disabled soldier did not count now; these things were not considered. A returned soldier in taking up study might be shortening his life; but the younger men should study for the examinations that would help them on; in five pr ten years they would find an increasing benefit arising from them. OTHER TOASTS. Mr Brown proposed th.e toast of ‘‘The Manawatu Section,” which, in his judgment, was living up to its reputation as one of the liveliest sections in the Association. Its officers knew their work and were carrying it out to the best of their ability. The chairman replied, and said that the need for interest in Association matters was never greater than at the present time.

Mr M. Hyland proposed the toast of “The Local Bodies’ Representatives,” which was acknowledged by Mr J. A. Smith, who mentioned that the Power Board frequently came into contact with the engineering branch of the Post Office, and he took this opportunity of thanking them for their constant courtesy and their co-operation with the Board’s staff in times of emergency. “The Press” was proposed 'by the chairman, and acknowledged by the “Chronicle” representative; and the final toast was that of “The Chairma:i,” proposed by Mr Hyland. At intervals songs were rendered by Messrs Better and, Whitehouse, duets by Messrs Mclvor and Bitist, and a piano solo by Mr Wyatt. The accompaniments were played by Mr S. Parsons.