D—2

The policy generally adhered to has been to meet the wishes of the men so far as work and locality are concerned, having regard to any new trade or knowledge acquired whilst in the Armed Forces. While in the Armed Forces railway employees have, of course, like other Government employees, had their rights of status and increments retained. Where increments have depended upon the passing of examinations, the increments have been granted and the employee given three years from the date of resumption of duty in which to pass the examination. In the case of the First Division examinations for which correspondence courses are available, employees who complete the correspondence course satisfactorily within the time limit are accredited with a pass. Apart from these general matters, have been the problems of rehabilitation of health, the placement of. men unfit for ordinary duties, and professional and trade training. Leave without pay is available to returned men to enable them to settle down generally, and may be used in the case of men who have not resumed duty, to try out other work, and in other cases to rehabilitate their health or to undertake educational or trade training. In the case of men obtaining rehabilitation bursaries or desiring to take up studies, the Railways Department arranges placement favourable to attendance at lectures, and grants leave full time without pay for the duration of the bursary, part time with pay for lectures, or part time with pay where no lectures are taken—e.g., correspondence study. Trade-training schemes are governed by the Director of Rehabilitation, and the Railways Department acts in close co-operation with him. The number of men in training at the various workshops and other places and in the various trades is 250, with approximately the same number of applications under consideration. One of the principal problems of rehabilitation is the placement of men who have, through war service, been rendered unfit for their ordinary work. Quite frequently returned men, upon examination by the Railway medical officers, prove to be below the usual standard, but except in extreme cases they may resume work if they so desire. They are placed according to work capacity in positions which are either available or are created for them. Every possible endeavour is made to avoid placement in " dead-end " jobs. After placement, the health and work of these men are watched by the District Railway Rehabilitation Officers to ensure that their general working conditions remain favourable and that they are not lost sight of after being absorbed into the normal work structure. A number of Division II men unfit for their ordinary work have been trained in Division I duties and 26 have been transferred to Division I, while another 16 are at present in training for clerical work. The general policy is, of course, to ensure, so far as it is humanly possible to do so, that no man shall lose by reason of his war service. CO-ORDINATION OF ROAD AND RAIL In 1937 the Government policy of co-ordination of long-distance rail and road goods services was introduced, and since then the Railways Department has acquired a number of road motor goods service licenses extending over practically all the main routes paralleling rail.

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