Co-operate, or Railways face doom Minister

Press, 5 November 1984, Page 1

Co-operate, or Railways face doom Minister

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

If Railways management and unions will not work together without disruption, together they face disaster, according to the Minister of Railways, Mr Prebble.

He told the Railways summit conference that in his 100 days as Minister he had learned that industrial disruption meant disaster. Its long-term effects were that, even when it was over, only two-thirds of the customers affected ever came back. The other one-third bought themselves a truck or used some other method. “No industry can afford disruption less than the Railways," said Mr Prebble. “If management and unions will not work together, to settle disputes between them without disrupting the. work, this conference is a waste of time and Railways has no future.”

The chairman of the Railways Corporation, Mr Lyn Papps, said that Mr Prebble’s words were music to his ears. Mr Prebble said that he had been asked — and it was a fair question — what the Government really wanted from the Railways. “The Government wants the best railway system 1 in the world,” he said, “and I challenge you here at this summit — why not?” Political obstructions that had prevented the Railways from reaching its full poten-

tial were, or soon would be, removed. The Railways should not be frightened of competition, as long as the competition was fair, he said. Rail had always had to meet the true cost of track management, said Mr Prebble, and now trucks had to meet the true cost of road management. Road-user charges had to be lifted to their correct level while “truck juggernauts rip up the roads,” as anything else would require unfair subsidisation from taxpayers. “The decision that truckies should pay the correct level requires political courage, but it will be taken,” Mr Prebble said.

Labour would not revert, either, to the political interference that had hamstrung the Railways’ development for the last 30 years — such as when every three years the Minister would instruct the Railways to take on more staff in marginal electorates. No-one in the Railways could be guaranteed the same job for their working life, but there would be jobs in the corporation for all who worked there, he said. Mr Prebble said that

there was no need for any compulsory redundancies in the Railways. With proper management and planning, all the railway workshops could stay open, but not as museums or part of the Project Employment Programme scheme. The nature of the jobs within them would change as the needs of the Railways changed, On behalf of the taxpayers, the Government insisted that the Railways be effective and efficient, he said, in three respects: ® The Railways needed good profits both to pay good wages and make major investments in its own future. © The Government faced

a deficit that was a recipe for economic disaster, and did not have “oodles of cash” to pour into the Railways, or any other venture. © Unless the Railways did made a good profit, it could not sustain long-haul passenger services. “Only efficiency can provide an effective railway system, and the Government cannot do it by passing legislation,” said Mr 1 Prebble. Only those in the Railways Corporation could make it pay. Further reports, Page 4