25,000 Railwaymen Given Pay Increases

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28747, 19 November 1958, Page 16

25,000 Railwaymen Given Pay Increases

(New Zea'ana Press Association)

WELLINGTON, Nov. 18.

Approximately 25.000 raili ways employees will receive pay increases as a result of an order issued by the Railways Industrial Tribunal. Only administrative class officers — those with salaries in excess of £1340 a year—will not benefit. In the salary division, increases: of £2O have been granted toi ) those in the £5BO-£1340 salary! • range, and below £5BO the in- . creases are scaled down from £l5 j h to £5. More than 4000 workers in j the salary division will benefit.! i In the general division, in--5 creases of 21d an hour have been: i granted adult male employees, ■ with lower increases for juniors J and women employees. The increases are retrospective to October 1, 1958, in the case of ’ general division employees and ' r to October 7 in the case of . salaried division employees. The Tribunal's order is stated ; to be noteworthy in that it applies ■ to many more salaried employees i than covered in the Government claim. ? The Railways Department ) offered similar increases but with] I a ceiling of £895 instead of £1340.j I I Total cost of the increases will: jibe more than £400,000 a year. ' The increase is lower than the! ‘'claim by the Railway Officers’ In-1 ,j stitute which asked for increases . ranging from £l5 to £25 up to salaries of £1340. It is also lower i than the approximately 3d an tihour claim by the Enginedrivers’, , .'Firemen’s, and Cleaners’ Associa- ; tion and the Railway Tradesmen’s ! Association, but the same as that i; accepted by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants. • J The order arises from the sur- | vey of ruling rates in outside in- , • dustry undertaken by the Government in February this year. < ! The Government Service Tribunal has already issued an orderp

for an increase of 2£d an hour to the New Zealand Workers’ Union. The tribunal consists of Judge W. F. Stilwell (chairman), and Messrs E. Casey (Departmental representative), and R. V. Fredric ‘member representing service organisations).