RAILWAY OVERTIME AT LYTTELTON.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9670, 8 March 1897, Page 3

RAILWAY OVERTIME AT LYTTELTON.

TO THR EDITOR OF THS PRKSS. Sir,—ln the interests of certain railway employees, 1 wish to draw your attention to the present system of sweating carried on by the rail ray authorities at Lyttelton. Horse drivers, shunters and wharfingers are made to work at all hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., and are often brought out of bed at such unreasonable hours as 2 and 3 in the morning. The Shipping Companies, for whose convenience this is done, pay the railway department Is 6d per hour for each of these men, but they get none of this. Their pay is time off during the day. Thus, six hours of daylight are granted as equivalent for six hours of night work. The money justly earned by the men goes into the pocket of the railway department. A peculiar thing about this booking off is that casual labour has to be employed to take the place of these men arhen off. Casual labour is paid at the rate of 10s per day, while permanent men receive only 7s. I suppose the money earned by the men during the night helps to pay the extra 3s and leaves a credit balance as well. At any rate the system is rotten, and you know that no other employer of labour would be allowed to do such a mean, contemptible thing. 'Tie an easy matter for the department to increase the station master's salary by £25 per annum, as an acknowledgment of his working the station cheap. Yes, cheap certainly, but at whose expense? The poor working man's.—Yours, &c, Vekitas. Lyttelton, sth March, 1897.