Bay of Plenty Times. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16., 1924. CIVIL SERVICE OREST.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LII, Issue 8570, 16 April 1924, Page 4

Bay of Plenty Times. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16., 1924. CIVIL SERVICE OREST.

The next day or two may he fraught with very far-reaching effects so far as members of the Civil Service arc concerned, and of the Railway and Post and Tele-o-raph Depar! merits particnlarly. In both the latter .services strike ballots arc now being taken, and the result may be known to-mor-row. So far as the railway service is concerned it should be made clear, that in that service there are two distinct organisations, one composed of the en-gine-drivers, firemen and cleaners, and the other of all other members of the service. It is this latter organisation —the Amalgamated Society of Ralway Servants —whch is taking the ballot. The setting up of a wages hoard hy the Government, qml the failure of that body to effect a settlement arc now matters of history. While strictly speaking the lines upon which the'Chairniiin of the Board sought to approach the question may have been beyond the order of _referonco, the fact remains that no satisfactory all-round consideration could he given to the wages of the railwaymen without regard to some seventy other requests of the men, and the effect on other members of the Civil Service, and the public generally. The Minister, in the statement issued over the week-end has brought the dispute within very narrow limits. If, he says, the men are prepared to revert to a 48-hour week he ran give the public a better railway service, reduce fares and freights, pay 3 3-4 per cent, interest on capital, and, above all, increase the wages of the men. The reply of the men to this simple demand is that they are not prepared to agree to this as it would involve dispensing with approximately one man in twelve, or, in other words, throwing 1100 to 1300 men upon the labour market, and they had no desire to improve the wages or conditions of some sections of the railway service at the expense of others. To this the Department’s representatives reply: “We see no reasonable grounds for the apprehension expressed by the representatives of the society in this connection. It is not the practice of the Department to reduce its permanent staff hy dispensing with the members thereof; and the department’s experience over a long periol of time affords the best possible reason for concluding that the natural expansion of the department’s activities and the filling of ordinary vacancies that arise from time to time will render dispensing with the services of any employees, as a result of the extension of hours, quite unnecessary. The very extensive works that have already been foreshadowed and that will 'have to bo undertaken by the department in the near future will necessitate a substantial increase in the staff, and will, indeed, severely tax the labour resources of the department. A consideration of these circumstances leads ns to believe* that the objection of the society in this regard is not well founded.” This virtually amounts to an assurance that no man capable of and willing to render 48 hours efficient service per week need fear dismissal. If, in face of this, the men stand firm in their (Jecision not to revert to a 48-hour week to secure the increase in pay they seek, then the duty of the Government is obvious. It is. hoewver, not so obvious in the case of the postal and telegraph employees. So far as we are able to understand the position, the pay in many branches of the service is not comparahh i with the pre-war standard. It will have to he that, before the {ba“rnmmit can lw deemed to i o ■ m-' i ■ men con:t a‘4 v.