RAILWAY APPOINTMENTS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14343, 1 May 1912, Page 6

RAILWAY APPOINTMENTS.

GENERAL MANAGER'S DECISIONS

IMPORTANT STATEMENT BY MR HASELDEN, S.M.

A statement of his view of the law ! regarding appeals from the General i Manager's decision to grant or withhold certificates of efficiency, etc., to tho members of the railway service . was made by Mr \V. R. Hasclden. S.M., > chairman of the Railway Appeal Board for the South Island, which sat in Christchureh yesterday. The Hoard, ho said, had never held that no riglit of appeal existed from the decision of the General Manager to grant a certificate of fitness in. favour of one. maa, in preference to others, who by mere seniority were better entitled to such certificate of fitness. Ho had repeatedly said that although such right of appeal existed, and many such appeals had boon heard and decided, it was difficult to see how they could be successful, unless the appellant proved a want of good faith on tho part of the superior officer in refusing a certificate. This statement had been twisted into one that no appeal would He. No doubt such appeals were ineffectual, so long as the (.•uneral Manager honestly gave his certificate. That was a logical deduction from the ruling he gave, but it was a vory different thing from saying that.no right .of appeal existed. Section 60 of the statute said: —"Any member who is aggrieved with any decision of his superior officer may appeal therefrom in manner hereinafter provided." With regard to promotions, the statute was .silent as to the mode in which they should be made; except that each member had a right to receive an increase in accordance with the third schedule, upon receiving a certificate of efficiency and good conduct, and it was the duty of the permanent head of the department to annually certify respecting each member to whoso pay an increase wa3 attached,-whether he was, or not, entitled thereto, and any .member, .who was dissatisfied with such certificate night appeal. The statute nowhere said that officers wcro to be promoted to vacant or new positions by seniority. What it did do was to divide tho whole service into divisions, subdivisions, classes, and sub-classes and grades, with a minimum and maximum salary in each grade, and an ."-u----liual increment. In no part of the statute had he been able to discover any right to promotion by seniority, or anv> provisions indicating the prmciplo upon which new appointments were <o be made. Tho whole question of promotion or appointment to vacancies was dealt with entirely .by tho.,regulations gazetted on May 19th, 1010. After dealing with Regulations 23 and .«, his Worship said that Regulation 40 (1) said:—"Whenever a vacancy occurs, or when a new position is to lie made, the member who has been 1 fctandiug" far the longest period at the nearest inferior rate of pay to that attached to such vacancy or position, shall bo appointed thereto if the ■ Geenral Manager certifies:— 1 (a) That it is necessary to the interests of the Department to make tho appointment. ; (h) That the member named is suitabb.and qualified to iill it. (c) That ho has passed the prescribed ! examinations. (d) T/» nt ho is the member best en- ; titlfd to the" appointment. If such member does riot fill these conditions, then another member shall bo .selected in like manner, and so on until the list is 'exhausted. There was nothing more, either in the statute or regulations, >to guide, tho persons m authority as 'to: promotions. In the statute there was no right by seniority; in the regulations there \vas such a right, upon certain specified conditions. It was impossible to claim the right and ignore the conditions. Dealing with individual cases, his Worship held that this method seemed fair and conducive to. efficiency, as long as it were honestly worked. In the cases of Messrs Weliings and McGovorn, which had given rise to so many appeals, and so much misunderstanding, the position of the appellants against Wellings and McGoyera appeared to him to involve this absurdity : The members named were doing special work at the head; office and wero deemed deserving of an increase of: £10 i>ol , year in their salaries, ami such increase was granted'to them. This increase automatically put them in a higher grade than they were in before, and placed them on the classification list ahead of those who had been previously ahead of them. The .appellants urged that either one of two tilings should happen, either that "Wellings and McGovern should he deprived of their increase, or removed from their special work, and the, senior members on tho list should be appointed in their place. The members who would have to be put in the place of the officers displaced, because they deserved a rise in* pay,- might be members who could not do the work at all, or who would require a long time to acquire the necessary training, and the members displaced might be equally unfit for the duties which would be assigned to them* if a slavish adherence to the rulo of seniority were insisted on. Read together and honestly worked the statute and regulations provided a general rule of guidance in appointments and promotions, with specific directions as to what must bo done in order to secure the appointment or promotion of the most suitable and deserving officer. The right to appeal against the heads' decision was given, and a very valuable and useful right it was co long as it was put to itn proper use, ami not used for improper purposes. The right to appeal was a great protection against favouritism or dishonesty, because if such an allegation were made, the Appeal Board could and would enquire into the circumstances, and could prohably end the career.of the party declared guilty of such a charge. T<o (such charge had yet been made against [ the general manager. What had been done was to attempt to show that in ! the opinion of certain subordinate officers, a certain member was better entitled to a certificate than the member edected by the general manager, and it was manifest that a great deal more than this was requisite to override the deliberative judgment of the general manager. So long as a man was trusted by the State with the enormous responsibilities of running the whole railway system, he must re trusted to use his judgment honestly in certifying to the capabilities of his subordinates, and when he was found •wanting in honesty in this respect, the shorter the time he continued in his position' the better. Every time he preferred a junior to a senior, for his certificate, he piactically staked his own position. A mere error of judgment he might commit, but not favour, affection, or ill-will. It was urged that the Board ehould use their judgment a's regarded the merits of candidates for promotion or appointment, and if they thought the general manager had made a mistake, override his dWsion. This was not an impossible attitude for the Board to take ujp, but it wae & very difficult one. The enancee of the general manager learning the truth as to a man's capabilities were infinitely greater than those of the Board, who had only the evidence of specially seHected witnesses on which to form an opinion. In hie opinion the bound and only Possible position for the Board to take up was that if there were nothing to show want of good faith on the part of the general manager, his judgment as to the merits of members must be accepted.