The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23. RAILWAY WORKERS' GRIEVANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 23 August 1907, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 23. RAILWAY WORKERS' GRIEVANCES.

None will deny that it is to the best L tcrests of the Stale and Hie taxpayer that the conditions of service in th more responsible, and especially the util ity service State Departments, shouli be lnadel : easoliabiy~attraclive, to sceiiri and retain intelligent stall's. It can not be denied, that in many of the de iiartmenls of Slate ihe conditions ar uiything but attractive, and that mud lissatisl'action and discontent exists ii icvcral of the departments. In none lowever, does the discontent seem mor ustilied than in the case of the railwa; uen, whose special pleaders in the Hous if Representatives have this sessioi hown the public deeper into the causei f the discontent than they have hither o delved. Reasonable treatment shouh urely be given the railway workers, see ng that upon their intelligence, capacit; .ml sustained application, depend no uerely the best use of ' the carryin; ilant of the colony, but the actua afety to life and limb of the travelllnj lublic. While our public repre cntatives boast of the ideal industria onditions prevailing in New Zealand rhilc every Arbitration Court am Conciliation Board unhesitatingly adini ,he claims of workmen for ''fair hours' ind "fair pay," and practically declari hat any business which cannot niee hese claims must close its doors, th ?ailway Department calmly ignores al he popular industrial maxims. Yet sta ionniasters, clerks, and cadets in man; ■ases work from nine to fourteen hour laily, not intermittently, but at almos ontinuous duty. They get no allowanc or overtime, and naturally resent ever; improvement in the public faeilitie .vhicli adds to their already excessiv jurden. During the past ten years, ihiting of rent allowance lias accom mnied a nominally considerable iucreas n atntionmasters' salaries, with the ne 'esult that there has been an actual ris )f only £5 yearly for the lowest grade md we all know how greatly the cos )f living has advanced. The railwa; Jerk after fourteen years' service onl; ■'ouches £IBO per annum, while the pos al clerk now reaches £220; and in th jreat majority of places the local post naster not only receives higher pay thai .lie los'il stalionmaster, but lives ren 'ree, while the stationmaster pays rcnl Again, the postal oiHcials receive over -iiue pay while railway officials do not Is the postmaster is not overpaid, vvha )f the stationmaster'; And is it souni public policy to thus prejudice cap ible lads against the railway servico asks the Auckland Herald. in man, jther other branches of the railway sei rice in which no such comparison ca, je instituted matters are no bettei some receive "standing time" and other io not; a few have the Kight Hour Da) jut more have not; sometimes overtim s paid for, but usually it is not. Xher ire a host of complaints wherever w ;urn, of which it is extemely likely tha nany have no real foundation and wouh lisappear the moment a genuine at lempt was made to remove the mor ;laring grievances. Sueh an attemp should unquestionably be made. Th railway men us a great body do no ivish to make any trouble. They ap ireciate the advantages of permancn ind assured employment; they loo) ivitli approval upon the superannuatioi scheme; they are proud, and proper!; n'oud, of the respect In which they ar .ield, and of the part they have in -. rreat national enterprise. Which is ai ihe more reason why they should b loalth with fairly and so strengtlwnei n that loyalty and goodwill to the ser .'ice which is of such inestimable valu ;o its efficient working. There is reasoi ;o believe that the Premier will submi iroposals which will end many of th existing anomalies, and it can only b loped that he will succeed in rcasonabl atisfying one of the most loyal depart nents in the Dominion. The sfatemen bat the branch of the service connects vith the workshops is to be separate rom the running portion, and brought inder the same working conditions a* irivate shops, is a "nig step forward, and ■he first acknowledgment that what is ;.;od ior the private empt-yec is alss ;ood for the State's skilled workman.