SERVICES CURTAILED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 January 1942, Page 2

SERVICES CURTAILED

DOMINION POST OFFICES LOSS OF MANPOWER. NEW HOURS AT MASTERTON. Some curtailment of Post Offices services are announced by the Postmas-ter-General, Mr Webb. In so far as the Masterton Post Office is concerned the 7 to 8 p.m. and the Saturday afternoon counter attendance at present observed will be abolished. The new office hours will be Monday to Friday: 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.; Saturday: 8.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. “Over 5,000 experienced officers will have been lost to the Post Office when the men now being called up report for service with the armed forces,” said Mr Webb today. “The strain imposed on the Department in releasing officers has grown from month to month and has now become so heavy that it is no longer possible to carry on without some curtailment in a number of postal, telegraph and telephone services.”

The principal alterations outlined by the Minister, which, except as otherwise stated, will become effective on Monday, February 2, were as follow: Public counters, both postal and telegraph, at many offices will be opened later and closed earlier each day. Post Office Savings-Banks will no longer open on Friday evenings for the acceptance of deposits. Press telegram services are to be modified.

Telegrams (other than urgent) for offices closing at 5 p.m. must be lodged not later than 4 p.m. to ensure delivery on day of lodgment. Luncheon and tea intervals are to be introduced in the larger telegraph operating rooms, during which only urgent traffic will be dealt with. Luncheon intervals are to be introduced also at certain of the smaller post offices, where staff economies will thereby be effected. Commencing on April 1 next, the provision for monthly telephone accounts will be abolished, and all telephone accounts must be paid on a halfyearly basis. Quarter-rate toll calls now provided between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m, are to be discontinued, as are also "appointment” toll calls.

The “Householder” circular delivery service is suspended. The Minister said he appreciated that the curtailments would on occasions be a source of some inconvenience to the public, and he wanted to make it clear that before it was decided to ask the public, by accepting reduced services, to relieve the Post Office of some of its load, the Department had gone a long way in helping itself.