RAILWAY INQUIRY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3397, 30 January 1920, Page 6

RAILWAY INQUIRY.

FURTHER EVIDENCE.

WELLINGTON, ‘Jan. 28‘

At the railway inquiry Bil‘ i\lt‘;dgnvald, continuing his statement, said that, having regard to overtunc and the numerous Pri"il°g9‘sr the D“l’al't' ment was paying its CmPl°)'9°3 3- fair amid ~eaSonable wage. As to the great cniphasis placed by Mr -Hampton on the factthat a very large number of men wereileaving the service, he pointed out. that it was quite possible to place 3. false construction on this. It was recognised that in times -of prosperity there was a considerable flow of men from one employer to another, and that condition was accentuated on account of the unsettled tendency of the late war. The gratuity, for instance, had a verydisturbing effect on meiny of the young men who dropped all: other business in order to devote themselves to their gratuity. A.,,great many men were leaving‘ the Department on account of dissatisfaction with the wages, but rather on account of ‘the economic disturbance which was being felt in alliavcnucs of life. Incidentally Mr MacDonald pointed -out that a considerable number of exhands wcre re-joining the service. Referring to the demand that signalmen, storenien, and shunters be levelled up and placed on the same basis as regards pay and conditions as guards, he pointed out that the character of the duties performed by guards, shunters, storemcn, and signalmen necessitated distinctions being_ made in -their relative’ positions, and under the circumstances the proposal could not be , agreed to. Dealing with the request that the pay of gasmcn be increased by 3/ pe.r day, to bring it into line with that of train examiners, Mr MacDonald said that train examiners iwerc en-1 titled to a. higher rate of pay on account of the risks they underwent. As regards tradesmen, their pay had beeni settled after consultation with ‘the! heads of branches, when it’ was agreed that a fitter was entitled to a higher a'a'te, of pay than other leading tradesmen. Full consideration would be given by the Depart-ment to the request that a married man ’s pay should be not . less than the adult minimum wage. Regarding the suggested increase in the ‘ pay and hours of gasuals, he pointed out that the Department considered it was an anomaly to pay them more than a permanent, under whose direction -they worked. That would give rise to dissatisfaction among the per-‘ manent hands. The Department had very little difficulty in getting all the casual labour it wanted, and this would not indicate that they were very dissatisfied. Touching the. demand that all second grades and‘ percentages afifecting the Second Division be‘ eliminated from the schedules of ‘theClassificaiion Act, and that. members commence at a. minimum to be fixed for what was now known as Qtrade 1. he said that the adoption of such =3. principle would have. a very serious effect on ‘the whole service, and would give rise to great discontent. Promotion to higher rates of pay was at present‘ governed in eifect by the number of! ‘vacancies. To say that men should rise automatically to higher rates of . pay, irrespective of vacancies and the]. requirements of the traffic, would impose too big a financial burden on the service. As to the demand for over‘time at the rate of 50 per cent advance on day rates atfcr 5 p.m., it had to be borne in mind that the increased outlay would be very considerable, having regard to the fact that much of the heavy trafiic was handled at night. It would have- the cifect~ of increasing the basic wage, or imposing disastrous burden on the country. As to Sunday work the Department had nothing furtrer to add to the reply which it had already given. Regarding the demand that all men working on slips or breakdowns be paid time and a-half, the Department’s reply was that rate and ahalf was paid for work done at slips -between 8 p.m. and 6 am. ‘.Vhere, however, work was done during ordinmy working hours, the ordinary rate was paid. The Department could not agree to the men’s demands. The De-pax-trnent would not agree to the extension allowance of 6d her day extra dirt money. Referring to the dcmmld fOT it 44.h0m- week, Mr MacDonald said ‘the Department held that it‘ was not Prim‘ ticable .for any railway To '3doP'3 3 a_m_ to 5 p.m_ as the recognisedhours for all branches._ Where it “'35 Pmc‘ micabje so to do without. interfering with ‘political requirements the hours t :of work was regulated, as in the workghopg, which conformed closely to the hours’ fixed by the Arbitration Cou-t. A 44-hour week applied to the workghops, but in other branches of the service men were required to 'yv‘d':"k eight hours per day,or 48 for a _wc...~.s work." The _DePa.l‘tm9nt._ °‘“”‘: rot agreelto a further cgxten.-91°“, '-‘* :‘h'°’ 44_hm‘n. week 1151--*week’s work, including overtime. ‘lt was prepared to ‘guarantee . to find’ work .which .W‘.’.“ld ‘enable -; men ‘ to earn equivalent to six days‘. Pia-7 ‘MI .1... Pfirtment was opP°s°d' t° 3 el .1- § ‘the existing’ arrangemmlts ‘re-£l‘ big; time (hf for meals; 3"“ °°'“'m mt

agree to providing meals in railway dining rooms nor to increasing the allowallces to men absent from headquarters on duty. As to t.l'a'.*3Uillg time the Department could not :1~,;r»3c to any alteration, nor to the dexruind ‘that Way and works men be paid wet and dry, in view‘ of the large exp:.e..iijture involved. The Department could ‘not agree to the request for :i.\' additional days’ leave To all men of the Second Division, 1101' could it .:ov_1=;:-gde the demand that :1 nlonth’s ieave of absence be accorded on men remaining in the service after len yea-_'.s‘t' :‘el' _vie.e. The Department was not prepared to make an alteration in the {direction of graiiting first class passes to» all nienibers of the service or with regard to sick and accident pay, and further it had no power to divert any portion of railway revenue to supplement the funds of the Railway Sick Benefit Societies. The Department was opposed to the demands relative to the men having‘ ajshare in the con trol of the railways, that they be represented on the Punishment Board, anda that Promotion Boards be estab‘lished_ It was also noted that it was} quite inipraeiicabie to get ‘the D 3 list‘ lout at any fixed time. The request that the division barrier be abolishled could not be agreed to. There

must be a dificrentiation between those who directed and those who carried out the operations of the Department. As to. lodging, the Department could not agree to any‘ increase in the night allowance. Regarding shunting, the existing practice of paying men an additional rate if employed on shunting for four hours or more ‘ daily was considered equitable ‘by the Department Likewise the Department I could not 'a.ee.e_de to the request to exempt second grade guards from taking Jup shunting duties when ‘their time arrived. The Department. was prepared apprentices who gained diplolmas and certificates of proficiency in connection with their trade in "their own time aixpeuce per day, but conysiclered it undesirable that they should absent themselves from duty during Iworking hours. Other demands which the Department could not accede to included extension of privilege tickets to children of employees and t'he authorising of sttationmasters to issue privilege orders. The Department was not preparcd to extend privileges granted to hourvto-hour casuals. The Department was opposed to the demand that the age limit (50 years) for promotion be abolished, for the reason that the circumstances of all employees at isolated places were not similar to these me_n. The Dep'artment also could not waive the conditions that an examination in telegraphy must. be undergone ‘by applicants desirous of transferring to the Fi‘f':»"7,' Division. 3\.l‘Z_‘ Mae;dona'l‘d then proceeded to call evidence-in amplification 1 of some of the points he had men- ‘ tioned.

This concluded the hearing of the case both for and against the demand of the Second Division. Before the Board rose 311' Hamptcn entered ":1 ’[ll‘Of(_‘Si at the suggestion of Mr I\lncDo'nal‘d that the Second Division had denounced any agreement made with the Department in March last, When the last‘ agreement was come to it was on the distinct understanding that the men accepted the Depart'ment’s concessions simply as an instalment, and there was nothing to hinder their fnrther prosecution of their claims. Mr MacDonald explained ‘that he did not allege that the men had broken faith. Tis Honour, in adjourning the Board till to—morroW. intimated that if the proceedings showed signs of being very protracted he would submit an interim I'Cpol".‘ to the Government with regard to the question of wages.