THE PROTEST

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 254, 25 October 1919, Page 11

THE PROTEST

AGAINST AMENDMENT BILL. AS.R.S. STAND FIRM. X R. 0.1. DIVIDED*. While the Railway Amendment Bill continues to absorb the keen attention !of all branches of the service, and Second : Division members have renewed their disj approval thereof, the feelings of the First j Division men in Auckland are mixed on i tho subject. 1 Both sections held meetings last evening, and while tho men'of the A.S.R.S., j which comprises the Second Divisionites, I stood firm to their former .resolutions of protest and passed a somewhat strongly- ; worded dcsolution, the meeting of the i First Division defeated by 32 votes to jlB a proposal to disapprove of the I clauses. . ' * There was a full attendance at the ■ meeting of the A.S.R.S. The discussion showed that the opposition to the bill !is by no means half-hearted, and once again it was resolved to enter a strong protest against it, and to urge the executive to take immediate steps to prevent |it being passed in its present form. The I hill was called a piece of class legislation. . Inter alia, the resolution ran as follows: "That Government he remindced that throughout tho period of the war the men who fought and bled for this country were told that they were fighting for a better standard of democracy, and we consider that this is a distinct attempt to defeat this ideal." | A final resolution embodies a protest against the proposal to allow the right !of promotion to be left in the hands of : the General Manager, irrespective Of j seniority, andMn the event of the failure :of the Executive Council of the Society ito have deleted from the bill .the object- , tionable clauses it should immediately put the issue, to the rank and file hv means of the ballot to determine final action. • FROM THE COUNTRY. . Furtbjer resolutions to the budgti already passed" by country branches of the A.S.R.S. continue to come forward. The latest are from Paeroa and Frankton.Tunction. From the latter branch telegrams have gone forward to -Mr. J. A. Young. M.P., and the general secretary of the Society, Mr. M. J. Mack, suggesting that they, with Mr. W. McArley. genera, secretary to tho Locomotive. Enginedrivers' Association, interview the Minister of Railways. j MIXED FEELINGS. There were 08 members present at the meeting of Auckland branch of the New Zealand Railway Officers' Institute. Considerable discussion ensued on the pros and cons of the hill, the meeting at times waxing very hot. The exact feeling was ascertained when a resolution for the branch to disapprove of the clauses in the hill was defeated by 32 votes to 18. The meeting then approved of a resolution to place on record its loyalty to the Executive Committee of the Institute, and that the executive be telegraphed to asking it to use its beat endeavours to secure the passing of the amending Act now before tho House into law as far as the context affects the members of the j First Division: i | Tho-opinion-, waa-.-expressed'that the j members of the Institute owed a debt of gratitude to the executive for the I manner in which it had repre- , sented the-case to the Department and to the House on the subject. It was also ! mentioned that the Institute, as a body, | had always pressed for reward for effici- | ency and merit, and recognised that by being placed in line with the other branches of thfc Civil Service a great advantage had been secured for members. A WAY OUT SUGGESTED. It was pointed out hy some of the members that alLa-ho other branches of ■ the Public Service had Staff Boards conI sisting of members of the management, , with elective representatives of the staff. i A section suggested, that probnbly Parliaj ment would make such a provision for I the railway service during the passage jof the bill. I Those hostile to the hill said that if; | such provision'were made they would withdraw unreservedly their opposition ,to the bill. | The following resolution was carried unanimously at a meeting of the Paeroa branch of the A.S.R.S.: "That the members of the Paeroa branch of the A.S.R.S. strongly object to tho large increases in salaries granted to the higher Jpaid officers of the First Division due to j retire, thereby increasing their STrr>pr«nInuation, when at the same time the Miifistnr of Railways refused the request of. our executive to give a further increase to the Second Division. This meeting views with Rlarm the proposals outlined by the .Government in handing over to the General Manager the adjustment of the classification list. We strongly urge our executive to use every legitimate I means in their power to defeat the above prr,-.o M i«. Wp nlon pledge ourselves to support our executive council in any action they may take."