POSTAL TROUBLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1920, Page 5

POSTAL TROUBLE.

WEN HARD TO HOLD, MEETING AT NEW PLYMOUTH. EXECUTIVE TO MEET THE PREMIER. The negotiations of the Post and Telegraph Service witlr the Government for improved conditions, which have been held up pending consideration of the railway dispute, will enter upon an important stage this week. Last night the New Plymouth secretary of the local branch of the P. and T. Association received official advice that the Prime Minister had agreed to meet the Association representatives at Wellington today or to-morrow.

In an interview with a Daily News representative last night, a prominent official of the-New Plymouth branch of the Association said that the grievances had been fully discussed at a meeting on Saturday night, and the meeting was unanimous in upholding the executive council (at present assembled in Wellington) in their efforts to obtain a satisfactory reply from the Prime Minister to the matters placed before him in an interview last month. The Prime Minister's reply to the effect that Cabinet would, after consideration of the railway tribunal's report, consider the question of a bonus to P. and T. servants, was considered most unsatisfactory, and it was decided, in view of previous experience of the word "bonus," to have nothing to do with the suggestion. "Our service," said this official, "wants salary . adjustments f in accordance with our pre-war earnings, which is nothing but fair and just, and the very word bonus leaves a nasty taste in the mouth of any P. and T. officer. We maintain our grievances should be settled on their merits and not on the basis of the raihvaymen's grievances. The two services are wholly dissimilar, and fair comparisons cannot be made. It is felt the Prime Minister does not, and will not, realise the seriousness of the position, and he is thuß forcing a deserving body of public servants to exist on a standard of living far below what they enjoyed in 1014." "Furthermore," he proceeded, "the Premier is responsible for forcing the more moderate officers of the service to change their views to that of the extremists, and it is a sure tiling, once this happens, that a serious position is bound to arise. It is daily becoming harder for officers of the Association to hold the men, but the public can rest assured that every means will be taken to effect a settlement before the men take matters into their own hands"

PREMIER SEEES POSTPONEMENT. I , The section secretary of the Post and Telegraph Association at New Plymouth received the following telegrams from the secretary at Wellington on Saturday morning: "The Prime Minister advised the conference this morning that he cannot answer the requests submitted by the delegation in May last until the Railway Tribunal's recommendations are received by the Government, and that then Cabinet will consider the question of bonus for the post and telegraph servants. Tile conference has urgently leplied that the grievances of the post and telegraph servants should ba settled on their own merits, and not on the basis of the grievances of the railway servants. Further, this service wants the salary improvements, and the bonus is therefore regarded as an impossible suggestion. The conference has adjourned until answers have been received from the various sections. In the meantime a postal ballot of members is being taken rc further action, the result of ths special meetings of she sections to be communicated to the Prime Minister, the conference, and thq Press." NEW PLYMOUTH PROTESTS.

Following receipt of. thia message, a meeting of the New Plymouth branch was arranged, and this took place on Saturday night. The following resolutions were carried and telegraphed to the conference now assembled in Wellington:— "That this meeting strongly upholds the action taken by the executive council in regard to the reply by the Prime Minister to the request for a reply to matters placed before him by tl-a delegation last month, and we hereby express our deepest disgust at the irritating delay in dealing with such urgent matters." "Failing an immediate favorable reply to the executive council's latest memorandum to the Prime Minister, this branch instructs its jdelegate to press for a svi-ret ballot immediately, the issues be left entirely in the hands of the exc' cutive council. The section places itself entirely in the hands of the conference, assuring the delegates of full support in any action deemed necessary to obtain a satisfactory settlement of our grievances." TELEGKAM TO THE PREMIER. The meeting also decided to forward the following telegram to the Prime Minister:—

"The local branch of the P. and T. Association urges that matters arising out of the recent interview be immediately dealt with on their merits, and not oil the basis of the raihvaymen's grievances. It was unanimously resolved that you be asked to give prompt and sympathetic consideration, ami meet the conference assembled in Wellington to avoid a deadlock."

EARLIER NEGOTIATIONS. RAILWAY DISPUTE AS BASIS. INDIGNATION OF CONFERENCE. By Teleerapli —Press Association. Wellington, June 12. The P. and T. men wrote to Mr. Massey on Thursday, stating that his reply was not clearly understood, and asking if the results arrived at by the railway tribunals aj'e to be applied to or become binding on the P. and T. service. If so. the delegates have the strongest possible objection to such a proposal, on the ground that their claims had not been heard by these tribunals, and the P .and T. views and conditions are unknown to them. On the salary question the issue was whether the basic wage of 1014 (£165) should or should not be improved to the extent of the known increase of the cost of living, and the hope was expressed that the Premier would give a reply to this yesterday. Mr. Massey replied that as soon as the Government • received the recommendations from the railway tribunals the whole question as to what bonus should be given to the P. and T. men