Word on salaries awaited

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34046, 9 January 1976, Page 10

Word on salaries awaited

Ministry of Transport traffic officers await word of a State Services Tribunal decision on their latest wage claims—and think they have waited far too long already.

They received their last general salary increase 10 years ago. retroactive from a 1967 agreement. Since then, the only rises have been cost-of-living increments. In addition, some officers — those working on office duties — have actually lost money since October 30, 1974. when the norma! working week was reduced from 48 hours to 40. Officers still on the road have been able to maintain their pre-1974 salaries by tax deductions on shift allowances and penal rates for

intght work, overtime, and. Saturday or Sunday duties. A departmental source ini Christchurch said there had! been “a fair bit of pro-i crastination” in negotiations' since the early 19705. Many traffic officers, who have assumed greatly expanded duties since 1965,1 are dismayed at the continuing disparity between: [their wages and those of! policemen. The latest claim, through the Public Service Association, seeks an alignment with basic police salaries, though scales are still less than those salaries. A proposed $5684 a year for a second-year traffic officer is about midway between salaries of first-year and second-year police constables. The present scale for the secondyear traffic officer is $5245.

Submissions made in No- • [vember to the State Services! i Tribunal said that low sal-: laries of traffic officers have I (increased problems of re-! cruitment and retention. ' During November and December. 1974, the Ministry of! [Transport experienced an i acute recruitment problem, i It was forced to cancel sev- ; , eral training courses at [Trentham because of a lack [of recruits — and that trend [continued into early 1975. Staff-turnover statistics show that there were only four resignations in 1971, compared with 12 in 1974 and 15 in 1975. Changes in traffic-officer duties since 1965 include the investigation of a majority of injury accidents (a change made only a year ago), bloodalcohol procedures, serving of summonses, weighing of i

■ heavy motor-vehicles, and accident property control. Present salaries, with proposed top scales in parentheses, are: First-year traffic officer. $4966 ($5392); thirdyear traffic officer, $5549 i(55975); fourth-year traffic ofI fleer, $5860 ($6475); sergeant, ■56361 ($7190); senior traffic [officer, $6860 ($7840): chief traffic officer, $7837 ($8740); traffic superintendent, $9942 ($11,290); and chief traffic superintendent, $12,941 ($14,141). At present, a first-year police constable earns more than a fourth-year traffic officer. While traffic officers are quick to emphasise that policemen deserve their salaries, they are just as firm in their contention that comparatively low salaries fail to reflect traffic officers’ actual iduties and capabilities.