ADDRESS AT STRAND THEATRE

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 94, 21 April 1924, Page 3

ADDRESS AT STRAND THEATRE

CASE FOR THE MEN. | GOVERNMENT CRITICISED. ev_Jln„l t, i and J h "^^" Was na * ed of th. VW 6n - Mr - P * Hicke y> mi , , Ctonan a,,d Queensland railwayfor .l,« e M er f. d 2? addreS9 on " The Case M_Cr.!h "• , The chair, _; an ™ 8 Mr. T. w*r_ y " and aUo on#khe Platform were prominent members of the local branch of the A.S.R.^ first / peaker was Mr. C. Dawson, secretary of the Auckland branch of the ™w k- " deaUng With the conditions under which the men were now working, the speaker quoted statements made by who K ." lg and Mr ' Ll °yd George in. 1919, • wLI tV"? Baid that thiß wa * * new ___£_" , -1* Wa8 ' then he did not th«k £3i9/To V*r the basic wage was m 19/10 If the men were to have a new then they would have to make it themselves. H e quoted from an • a dvertisement in the newspapers in which it was set out. that 10 per cent of I the railway employees were living in ■ louses at 8/ per week, but he would , "ke to know what the other 90 per cent l were paying. The Government also made a big song about free passes and privicges given the employees, but he would , like to say that few of the A.S.R.S. men could afford to take a holiday. , Mr. D. Rowles, of the Newmarket workshops, criticised the advertisements which had appeared in the newspapers, and said that they were only half truths. Uisraeh had said in the House of Commons that there were three kinds of lies—lies, damn lies, and statistics. The Government dealt in the latter extensively. The railwaymen received the maximum when the cost of living was 03 per cent above normal, and the statistics then covered everything. The reduction was made, but then rent, clothing, and firing were not taken into consideration. The cost of living to-day was 62 per cent above normal, and only 1 per cent less than when the men were receiving the maximum. Mr. Hickey began by saving that there was seething discontent in almost all branches of the Public Service. The ! railwaymen were not the only men dis- I satisfied; the Post and Telegraph! and teachers were in the same! boat. He understood there were | something like 15,000 railway employees in the Dominion, and in making out a ! case for the men he would like first to draw attention to the seriousness of their position. The men of the A.S.R.S. wire differently placed to a bricklayer, carpenter, or other tradesman. They I could not throw up their job and go i along to another boss. There was only I one boss in the railways in New Zea- j land, and that was the Government, j therefore when a railwayman threw I down his tools his career as a railwayman was ended. This was a point he wished to emphasise, because it showed the justice of the present demands of the men when 80 per cent of them voted in favour of striking. The A.S.R.S. executive had informed the Government that they weje prepared to forego all other demands if they, received an increase of 2/G per day and the hours remained at 44 per week. The Government Btated that to grant the demands of the men would cost £802,000, but this was not correct, and the amount wonld be £G46,000. The present wage was £3 15/10, not £3 19/10, because 4/ went to the superannuation fund. He challenged anyone to say that any man could live at all decently on such a wage. The Government had stated that if the 48 hours week was reverted to it would not mean reducing the number of men in the service. If that were so then there must be speeding up of the men now. The men had a genuine cause, but everything depended upon their solidarity. Mr. O. Mcßrine moved the fqllowing resolution, which was carried unanimously: "That this meeting records its appreciation of the justice of the men's demands and trusts the A.S.R.S. will emerge victorious from the present negotiations with the Government and preserve the dearly-won conditions of employment enjoyed by the New Zealand railwaymen." The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to Mr. Hickey.