Railway Cuts Attacked

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31681, 17 May 1968, Page 20

Railway Cuts Attacked

(N.Z. Pres, Association! WELLINGTON, May 16. The small surplus in the railways accounts for the last financial year would give satisfaction to many railwaymen after a difficult year, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the Enginedrivers’, Firemen’s and Cleaners’ Association and the Railway Tradesmen’s Association said in a joint statement. However, says the statement, this surplus had been made only at the expense of the future of railways and railwaymen. “To achieve this surplus the Railways Department has

been required severely to cut expenditure, which can only create further difficulties for the future. "Because finance is not available for materials, existing staff, in some cases, is not being used to the best advantage and rolling stock Is not being maintained as it should be. Construction is held up and potential railwaymen are being left in the ranks of the unemployed because financial restrictions prevent the department from engaging all the staff it could and should engage,” said the statement. “The A.S.R.S. has proposed that the Government relieve the railways of the $2.6 million loss on local services, or, in the meantime, make available a moderate capital outlay to provide local materials for necessary railway works. “This will promote employment on works of a high labour content within and without the railways, and at the same time will be a sound investment for the future of railways and the country and will assist in promoting economic stability. “We want to see money

spent on New Zealand materials and wages and not on unemployment benefits,” the statement said.