P. AND T. REUNION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 November 1938, Page 5

P. AND T. REUNION

GATHERING ON SATURDAY NIGHT CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT STATEMENT BY MINISTER The Wairarapa branch of the Post and Telegraph Association held its annual social gathering in Masterton on Saturday night. Reassuring statements regarding the work and conditions of employment in the service were made by the Postmaster-General, the Hon F. Jones and executive members of the association.

Mr F. E. Dwyer, who presided, said he was very glad to see such a good representation of officers present, and he extended to them and to the visitors a hearty welcome. They were indeed grateful that the Postmaster General, who was such a busy man, had found it possible to attend, and to him, and to the Deputy-Mayor. Mr W. White, the chairman, of the Wellington section, and a member of the executive committee, Mr J -G. Churchill, and the secretary of the ' Wellington section. Mr H. Goodhall, he would like to extend a cordial welcome also. He was pleased to see there Mr G. R. Sykes. In welcoming the new Postmaster, Mr M. M. Simpson, Mr Dwyer said he hoped his stay would be a very happy one, and mentioned that peculiarly enough there had been a different Masterton Postmaster at each of the last three reunions. He thought it was time the Department stopped that, and .allowed the Postmasters to stay there a little while longer. Apologies for non-attendance and best wishes for a successful reunion were received from the Prime Minister, the Rt’Hon M; J. Savage, the leader of the Opposition, the Hon A. Hamilton Mr J. Robertson, M.P., Mr B. Roberts, M.P., Mr H. E. Combs, M.P., Sir Alfred Ransom,' M.P., Mr G. McNamara, Director-General and Mr J. G. Young, Assistant-Director. On behalf of the Borough a hearty welcome to the new Postmaster was extended by Mr W. White, who.proposed .the toast of the > Department. Although there had been three postmasters in three years, he was pleased to say that the town had been very fortunate in the selections that had been made. Mr White spoke of the extreme courtesy that was a characteristic of post' office employees, and said there had never been any trouble with them. He advised them all to continue to get rid of all their grievances in the spirit of sweet reasonableness.

Replying to the toast, Mr M. M. Simpson said he (was very pleased to have the opportunity of serving in Masterton. He had met most of the staff, and he hoped to secure their confidence and goodwill. He referred to the large volume of work handled by the postal department, which he said was a monument of co-operation, and after speaking about the comprehensive regrading recently carried out said that the service as a whole had reason to be proud of the consideration extended in the past few months. Touching on the work of the dead letter office, Mi’ Simpson said that 993,000 letters had failed to reach their destination last year because of faulty, addresses. Actually that was a,very small percentage of the business handled, but it showed that something ..should be done to reduce the work of the Department. They should try to encourage the public to do what was being done in the United States —write their own addresses on the other side of the envelope. There were many things they could copy from America, and that was one of them, Mr Simpson said.

Mr R. Boyes, Postmaster at Eketahuna, who proposed the toast of Parliament, said the association for some time had been agitating for a tribunal which would settle the salaries and conditions of those in the service, so that they could not be altered by a stroke of the pen. With the present Government in power, he thought they were likely to get that 'if the proposition were put in the proper way. In reply the Postmaster-General said they would all have liked to see Mr Mr H. E. Combs, who for a number of years had been actively associated with the association. Mr Combs would be a great assistance to, him in the portfolio he held, and he knew he would get from him full co-operation. Parliament, said Mr Jones was based on,democratic lines and was a replica of the Mother of Parliaments, the British House of Commons. Some countries had departed from that form, but in New Zealand they did not think that was acting in the right direction. The Government, he said, would do everything possible to maintain the right of freedom, the right of the people to express themselves and to elect their own IJarliaments. One of the big factors in the return of the Government was the Prime Minister, Mr Jones continued. He had shown the people his great spirit for work, and they in turn had placed their confidence in him. The fact that the Labour Government had such a splendid leader had been responsible for their return for another three years. One of the greatest things Mr Savage had wanted was more security for the people of the Dominion, and in that connection the Social Security Act was one of the finest measures ever placed on the Statute Book. There was no one in New Zealand more pleased than Mr Savage who had been instrumental in seeing the legislation carried through. Mr Jones said he thought the people had a good Government at present, but it could be a good one only while it had the loyalty and co-operation of the people. If the people slacked they were working against the Government, and if they were not rendering better service than they gave in the past they were working against the Government. The least the people could do was to give of their best. In making, those observations Mr Jones said he was not reflecting on the Post and Telegraph service, because there was no prouder man than himself to be the PostmasterGeneral. He had travelled in many parts, and in every town he heard of the splendid service being rendered by the Department, and it made him realise that all the staff, was doing their job and doing it well. Referring to the association Mr Jones said he thought it was doing its job, and although it did not always get its way it was not because he was opposed to their proposal, but because] of the question of costs. The Government could not be expected to remove all the anomalies in three years,(but in time it would make the service a splendid one from the employee point of view’. Mr Boyes had mentioned the setting up of a tribunal. That had; been put to the Government on one or 1

two occasions, and the Prime Minister was quite prepared to provide it to settle wages and conditions for employees. There was a proposal on the part of one of the association officials to get information from Australia concerning the employees, and it had been suggested that a member of the Government should go over there also to investigate the position. Mr Jones said that if they wanted the tribunal, and it was set up the conditions made would be binding on both parties. Although Mr Combs was opposed to him politically, he was very pleased that he had been elected to the House, said Mr G. R. Sykes, in proposing the toast of the Post and Telegraph Employess’ Association. They had had a lot in common, and he believed they would find Mr Combs a very useful member of Parliament in dealing with their affairs. Replies were made by Mr J. G. Churchill and Mr H. Goodhall, both of whom spoke of the work being accomplished by the association. It was their duty to co-operate with the Government, and they had the utmost confidence that existing anomalies would be adjusted. They were not. asking for anything which other services did not have, but they wanted uniformity throughout the services. The toast of the Press was given by Mr J. D. O’Connor, former Postmaster at Masterton. and replied to by Mr C. W. McMillan. Bright musical items were supplied during the evening, and at the conclusion of the toast-list a community sing was held.