The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1920. POST AND TELEGRAPH GRIEVANCES.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1920. POST AND TELEGRAPH GRIEVANCES.

If there is one class of public servants held in higher esteem by the public than another it is those who comprise the staff of the Post and Telegraph Department, so it may be confidently assumed that the treatment meted out to these much appreciated officers will be closely watched, and any injustice strongly resented. Every phase of life of the community is more or less dependent on the prompt nnd faithful discharge of the duties of those engaged in this great national work, so it is only natural that public sympathy will be accorded whole-heartedly to those officers who have consistently taken a pride in doing their best, often under trying circumstances. It is deplorable that ! friction should have arisen between the Premier and the Executive of the Post and Telegraph Association. The main griev■lace .of the gtaff i§ the salary.

question, and the way in which this grievance has been neglected by the Government has aggravated the position, and caused much irritation. In common with all wage-earners the post and telegraph staff are feeling the effects of the high cost of living, and they have naturally asked to have the basic wage of 1914 improved to the extent shown by the rise in prices of the necessary commodities. They not only consider that, a bonus could not satisfy ~ their, present requirements, but such a means of settlement would not be entertained. This attitude they have good grounds for maintaining, as the operation of a bonus' would benefit the higher paid men. who do not feel the full pressure of the increased cost of living anything like the lower paid men, who are having a hard struggle to make both ends meet. Apparently the matters in dispute are so simple that they could have been set-

tled at a conference with the Premier when the claim for consideration was made in May. Unfortunately, Mr: Massey took a course which the members of the service appear to regard as adding insult to injury, by proposing that as soon as the Railway tribunal has completed its work it shall deal with j the P. and T. grie van ces. Possibly it was in tended this tribunal should go into the matter in the same way as if it had been appointed for this part'eular purpose, but the P. and T. staff strongly resented having their grievances settled on the same basis as those of the railway servants. They claim that their case should be treated on its merits, and have ex-, pressed the strongest indignation at the proposed tribunal.' Logically their attitude is unassailable. If the two branches of the railway service are each allowed to select their own tribunal, the post and telegraph executive should certainly be allowed the same concession. The attitude of the Premier in differentiating so widely between the method of treatment of these several servants of the State gives color to the impression that he regards the outcome of the P. and T. grievances more lightly j than in the case of the railwaymen, being confident that the former will not proceed to extreme measures. They most assuredly would not do so, except as a last resource, and even then would not take action until forced to do so in self-defence. It is unthinkable that the consideration of reasonable requests should be so mishandled as to work up to a crisis. These> public servants are just as much entitled to a square deal as any other class in the community, but they have been goaded in a way that has produced anger and hot vords, when their claims

might have been inquired into and settled in twenty-four hours at most. There is not the slightest reason why Mr. Massey could not, a month ago, have arranged the matter out of hand, instead of prolonging the

irritation which should never have been allowed to exist. Apart from the present troubles there are others of long standing, especially in regard to the disputed minute of a promised bonus—a promise that should be honored even at this late hour. It is to be hoped that

immediate steps will be taken by the Government to clear up the grievances of the P. and T. staff in such a way as to convince not only those directly affected, but the public as well, that the complainants have received a full measure of justice. They deserve the most favorable consideration and

Something over—as a solatium for

the cavalier treatment they have received, and in recognition of their endeavor to have an adjustment by constitutional means.