RAILWAY WAGES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 245, 16 October 1944, Page 6

RAILWAY WAGES

INCREASE SOUGHT CLAIMS BY TRADESMEN (P.A.) WELLINGTON, this day. The claim by the Railways Tradesmen's Association for an increase of 6d an hour, including the cost-of-living allowance, was heard by the Railway Tribunal to-day. Mr. T. F. Gebbie, general secretary of the association, detailed the grounds on which the claim rested. He ui-ged that the responsibility carried by the tradesmen in the performance of their work had increased with the development of the industry, the training required' and the degree of skill it was necessary for them to acquire to meet modern development, and the wide variety of work to which their skill could be applied. He spoke of the necessity of making trades more attractive by means of proper rates of remuneration, so ensuring an adequate supply of skilled workers for the future development of the ii.dustry. He urged equitable compensation for the peculiar and more greatly restricted conditions of railway employment, and compensation for the lack of opportunity for the majority of tradesmen to gain further advancement.

He referred also to the necessity for retaining and attracting into the service skilled men of the highest qualifications in the interests of the efficiency of the Department and the safety and convenience of the public, the advisability of maintaining a proper relationship between tradesmen in the railway service and other categories, on the basis of the value of the work performed, the training required and the skill necessary for various types of work. He advocated compensation for the use of privatelyowned tools on Departmental work, the cost of providing and maintaining the average tool kit having increased considerably.

Mr. Gebbie said that this was the first opportunity the association had had of having an impartial tribunal with mandatory powers to assess the proper value of railway tradesmen s work. The State, for the maintenance of its own dignity and prestige and to encourage the maintenance of a reasonable standard of living, should have a greater sense ol responsibility to its employees than could be expected from private employers.