WELLINGTON'S AUXILIARY FIREMEN.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9189, 8 September 1908, Page 5

WELLINGTON'S AUXILIARY FIREMEN.

OUT ON STRIKE,

THE AUTHORITIES NOT PERTURBED. BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION. WELLINGTON, September 7. Efforts by the auxiliary firemen attached to the Wellington Fire Brigade to secure better terms of remuneration having failed, a strike of twelve out of the seventeen on the roll has taken place. The auxiliary firemen are only called upon to serve in cases of serious fire, and the terms upon which they were engaged were £1 ; ( 5 per annum retaining fee, and 2s per hour for all time worked at genuine fires. They are supplied with a uniform, helmet, cnat and trousers, but no boots. They receive no payment. for f&lse alarm turns out, nor for chimney fires, and this rule forms one of their causes of dissatisfaction. Recently they petitioned for £2O per year salary per man with annual increments of £l. This was not entertained by the controlling authorities, but an offer of £7 10s per year was made plus an allowance of 3s per hour for the first hour at each fire, and 2s per hour hereafter. False alarms and chimney fires to carry no remuneration. There is further dissatisfaction because a donation of £SO made to the Brigade by the Premier was given at the rate of £1 per man to the permanent members, and only 103 per man to the auxiliaries. The twelve men on strike arc understood to regard the latest offer of the Fire Brigade authorities as less beneficial than the original scale of pay. It is reported that the authorities are in no way perturbed, and profess themselves able to fill the vacancies twice over on the original terms.