MEN SUSPENDED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 March 1941, Page 6

MEN SUSPENDED

TROUBLE AT WORKSHOPS DISPUTE CONCERNING OVERTIME. MINISTER CONDEMNS ACTION. (By Telegraph-Press Association. I WELLINGTON. This Day. On the instruction of the Minister of Railways. Mr. Semple, a large number of employees of the Hutt Railway Workshops will be suspended for refusing to do special war work on Saturday morning after being instructed by the management to do so. The men s action was taken to express their dissatisfaction at being requested to woik overtime on Saturday mornings at ordinary rates of pay when similar overtime work in private industry was being paid for at time and a half and m some cases, double rates. The respective presidents of the A.S.R.S. and the Railway Tradesmen’s Association. Messrs. Gasper and Paul have arrived in Wellington, and it is believed they are to confer with the Minister and the General Manager of Railways today. Mr. Semple Speaks Out.

The action taken by the men in resot ting to direct action is a thing I will not tolerate in any circumstances,” said Mr. Semple, on Saturday, when referring to the dispute at the Hutt railway workshops. The Minister said there ■could bo only one Government running this country, and that was the Government constitutionally elected by the people, and not by a group of individuals who were working in Government workships or anywhere else, particularly in a time of crisis when they were fighting for their very lives The men were being disloyal not only to their own union, but also to the Government.

Mr. Semple said his information was that at various times the question of penal rates for Saturday morning work had been represented and that the reply had been that extra pay would not be granted but work would be restricted as much as possible on Saturdays consistent with the prosecution of the Dominion’s war effort.

Since he assumed the portfolio of Minister of Railways, the A.S.R.S. had met him and brought forward four of their principal remits, which were considered vital at -the time. They were(a) That members of Division 11. be granted an increase in annual holidays; (b) That an increase in wage rates be granted to labourers and semiskilled workers throughout the railway service; (c) That the wages and conditions of car attendants be reviewed; (d) That an increased allowance be granted to me living in huts and working away from their headquarters. At this conference no mention was made regarding the question of overtime for the work performed on Saturday morning in connection with munitions work.

The first intimation he had that the men intended to refuse work was when he was in Christchurch on Friday, said Mr. Semple. The intimation had not come through the official organisation, as it should have done, but from the workshops.

After discussing the matter with the General Manager of Railways, who was jn Christchurch with him, the Minister said he gave instructions that any men who absented themselves were to be suspended. He understood that only 1 men out of 600 turned up for work. Attitude of Workers. An explanation of the attitude of the men was given on Saturday. It was stated that since the war started a number of workshops men had been doing, overtime work on Saturday morning at ordinary rates of pay. They claimed that in this respect and in others their rates and conditions complied unfavourably with those of men in similar private employment, and they said that the matter of overtime rates for Saturday mornings had been represented to the Railways Department several times without the men obtaining satisfaction. It was further stated that the Saturday morning work at the Hutt workshops had so far been voluntary. A meeting was held last week, however, and it was decided to decline Saturday work till the overtime question was settled. This decision was communicated to the head office of the Railways Department, and the AssistantGeneral Manager asked in reply that the matter be held over till the return to Wellington of the Minister and of lhe General Manager, and that in the meantime the men work on Saturday morning. Another meeting of men at the workshops on Friday rejected this request by a majority vote. The management was notified of this decision, and toward the end of Friday afternoon about 200 men who usually worked on Saturday morning were ordered to attend on Saturday and threatened with suspension if they did not.

Official Statement. An explanation of the attitude of the Railways Department was given on Saturday. This made it clear that I the arrangement between the Railway unions and the Government was for a uniform tolerance of four hours’ ordinary rates of pay in respect of lime worked in excess of 40 hours. This applied to all employees working under railway conditions. The effect of this arrangement in the workshops was that the first four hours worked on any Saturday were paid for at the ordinary rates. Thereafter, the overtime rate of time and a half applied,. The men demanded that: if they worked this four hours they should be paid time and a half. The work they were asked to do arose out of the war —the making of munitions and so on—and they had been asked to work at ordinary time rates in accordance with the arrangement previously made. It was also explained that when the ; men had any grievances their proper course was to make representations through their own union. In this particular instance they had not done so.

ENTRY REFUSED ACTION THIS MORNING. CONFERENCE WITH MR SEMPLE. WELLINGTON. This Day. The suspension of men who.failed to turn up at the Hutt Railway Workshops on Saturday was carried into effect this morning. They were refused entry to the simps. II is reported that representatives of the A.S.R.S. and Railway Tradesmen's Association are conferring with Mi’ Semple this morn-j ini?.