ORDER CRITICISED

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13801, 19 November 1942, Page 2

ORDER CRITICISED

DEFERRED RETIREMENT

“If the war continues for another two years, when peace arrives chaotic staff conditions will appertain in the railways service,” states the New Zealand Railway Officers’ Advocate, in an editorial article criticising the suspension of the 40-year retirements.

“We have on several occasions written of the injustice that is being done to soldiers who fought in the previous world war,” the article adds. “If the present policy is continued much longer then a smarting injustice will be done to able and highly-efficient officers, not only during the remainder of their stay in the service, but more particularly in the effect that it will have on their superannuation allowance.” In two years’ time, if the war ended there must be a wholesale retirement of executive and senior officers in the higher grades, with a consequent retention of some of them or their replacement by men without administrative experience or training. Commenting on the position yesterday, members of the Railway Officers’ Institute said an injustice lay in the fact that men retained after their 40 years’ service, or after reaching the age of 60, were in fact working for a third of their salary only, since they were entitled to twothirds of it as superannuation. Their retention also prevented- those in the lower grades making the usual advances, so that those near to retiring age would retire on less superannuation than would normally be their right. Superannuation was based on a proportion of the average salary for the three years preceding retirement.

It was suggested that the pernicious effect of the new order might be avoided by allowing the retirement of officers to continue as usual and afterward re-directing them into the lower grades. With the number of experienced men then available for routine work it would be possible to introduce a larger proportion of unskilled or female labour and thus release for military service more of the younger men now retained as essential. That w r as, in fact, being practised to a certain extent at th.e present time, men who had retired being engaged as casual clerks, but the system could be much extended with a general gain.