RAILWAY SERVANTS' GRIEVANCES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12968, 22 November 1907, Page 4

RAILWAY SERVANTS' GRIEVANCES.

__ t I HOLIDAY LEAVE AND SICKNESS. (SMOIAIi TO "TUB M-SSS.") WELLINGTON, November 20, Mr Massey has put in a plea for railway sMTsnts who do not get their annual leave. To-day he asked the Act-1 ing Minister, for Railways, whether it is a faot that on the Auckland section, of railways there are a number of officers who have had no leavo for eoveral years, and i. ewh iVthe case will he endeavour to mSke the necesgary arrangements to enable the men to have the holidays to which they are j entitled. ' . - I The Premier made the following reply:—Owing to the large amount of sickness that has had to be contended with, there has been a difficulty in the matter of relieving socfte of the members of tho railway staff m ™"°™| | parts of the Dominion, although every tx-saibl© effort haa been anado to over-. Some the difficulty. The postponement by members of their leave from one year to another also accentuates .the __ifficuJty, as although the felfeying staff , may be ample in cases of requirements of one year, it may in the following year fall short owing to accumulative leave, and a Sudden epidemic of sickness. The extent to which sickness j has affected tho question .of; leave in various districts during the .last, year will be more fully appreciated whenJ state that in tho Auckland district 4 J men were absent owing to sickness lor 678 days, in Wangnnui 65 men were absent *885 days, in Wellington 60. men were absent 1066 days, in Christchurch 60 men were absent 1030 days, in Dunedin 64 men were absent 727 daye, m Invercargill 7 men J were absent 884 days, in Grey mouth 8 men were absent 353 days, in Westport 6 men were absent 4 months, in Nelson one man was absent 33 days, and 27 other absent for 300 days. It is only to be expected that where relief has to be arranged to meet so large ed a demand on account of sickness, th© ordinary leave will get to some extent in arrears. In many cases the period which men were off owinjr to sickness was greater than the perioTS of leave due, and it is no exaggeration to say that had it hot been for the heavy demand mad© by sickness, tlie leave on tho Auckland section", as elsewhere, would now have been well up to date. It is not. however, correct "to say that men in tho Auckland district have not been granted leave for years, as from a return jus* to hand it appears that only 10 men, whose leave was 'due in ' September, 1906, have not been, granted same. All arrears will, however, be worked ojf es quickly tm the circumstances in each will permit, and additions to the staff are daily being made for the purpose of enabling this to be done. Th© regulations' provide that leave may b© allowed to accumulate for four years, after which- it will lapse, and. that officers who dastre to take their leave shall apply for same. Some officers, however, for reasons of 'their own, do not regularly apply for leave, or take it even when relief is ■ 'available. The Department has no control in such eases.