UNIONISTS' LOT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 102, 1 May 1940, Page 8

UNIONISTS' LOT.

"NOT A HAPPY ONE." REPLY TO MR. NAGLE. LONG SPREAD OF HOURS. A r-?: !y wa - to-lay by the Press Committee of the Auckland Tramways Union to the stateiuc-nt made yesterday relative to the present clsi-ute by the chairman of the Auckland Trans* • t < ft B- a: - d. Mr. W. H. Xagle. At the outset the statement draws attention to the fact that the s-c-he-iulc ,i ware-: -.aid under the t e r::, - of the union's industrial agreement is a-J'au-s of Wager. —Conductors i first 1 mouths . 2,4s per hour; conductors iaiier 12 months), 2 '6: motorine-:: 'first 12 months;, 2/ti: motormen (after 12 months ', 2/7: signalmen (Wellesley .St.'. £'J 1/ per week; clock attendant. £•"> o': mot -mien acting In dual capacity of drive: and conductor shall be paid (per hour:. _'l extra. Depot-.—Car examiners (day'. 2/05 per hour: car examiners (night' 1 . 2 s ?: pitmen (day \ 2/-3J: pitmen (night', 2/7; cleaners (day/, 2/4 i; cleaners AVorknhojis.—Car adjuster?, 2 S p.er hour: metal moulders, 2/8; machine driller?, 2/S: arc welders, 2/lOj; overhaulers (first five years), 2,7; overhaulers (after five years i, 2/S; blacksmiths' strikers, 2/o*. Caretakers. £3 0/ per week; watchmen, £4 15/; janitor* (first two years', £.3; janitors (after two years), £5 5/. Permanent Way.—Class A: Arcwelders, 2/10j per hour; permanent way repairers, 2/4|; blacksmiths' strikers. 2/62; truck drivers, 2/bj. Class B: Trackmen, £4 19/4 per week; pointsmen (day), 2/.31 per hour; pointsmen (afternoon), 2/74; 2/ per shift extra for night shift. Overhead. — Linesmen (first 12 months), 2/7 per hour; linesmen (after 12 months i, 2/S j - wagon drivers, 2/7; pole erectors and cable layer*, etc., 2/5?; casual labourers, 2/4 J. One penny per lour extra for ordinary rostered night shift. These wage rates are all subject to the Government tax, and also to a compulsory reduction of 2/3 a week for the sick and social fund.

"Working these wages out on a 40hour week, which is provided for in the agreement, makes for a great deal less than the wages quoted by the board's chairman/' adds the statement. "It appears that the chairman added .3 per cent to this schedule of wages. This is very misleading. The wage schedule as set o"lit in the agreement is the only proper method of setting them out. Any other computation is misleading. "No Guarantee of More than 40 Hours." '"There is no guarantor in the agreement for any work beycrrrtl forty hours a week, and surely no one can quibble regarding the small amount of overtime paid in the traffic department to meet the exigencies of the service. '"Let us quote this for the information of the public: 'Straight shift men leave home per bike or 'walkers' bus' at any time from 3.30 to 5 a.m. to perform their ordinary straight shift. When required they are compelled to perform call-back specials to cope with the five o'clock rush traffic. This special usually finishes at approximately 6.30 p.m., which means that he leaves home at. say, 5 a.m., and doeg not return until 7.30 p.m. How would the office or other 8 to 5 workers like this for a day? " What a Life." ''Broken shift men cover spreads of 12 and 12i hours to get an eight-hour day in. So the public will see that a tramwayman's lot is not a happv one. It is only since the introduction of the 40-hour week that he has been able on his days off to see his family, as they are in bed when he leaves home for duty and have said their lullaby and have been tucked in before he returns home. What a life! It must also be appreciated that the wage tax and other commitments are deducted and it is seldom they see a 'fiver.' "We regret having to publish this, as it is all beside the point, as wages should not have been published by the board's chairman. The point is" that an agreement was entered into between the board and the unions affected to proride for an increase in wages to meet the increased cost of living. The Government Statistician states the increase has been 8 per cent. We desire an 8 per cent increase in wages. No juggling with figures can surmount this fact. Rising Cost of Living. "Ask the ordinary housewife how much the cost of living has increased during the last two years and the general answer will be" nearer 30 per cent than the small increase of 8 per cent, which will not compensate tramwaymen or any other workers for the decrease in their purchasing power— wages."