P.O. delegate angry with Mr Rodger

Press, 30 July 1985, Page 8

P.O. delegate angry with Mr Rodger

PA Wellington Angry Post Office Union delegates reproved the Minister of State Services, Mr Rodger, at the union’s annual conference in Wellington yesterday. The union’s members expressed their anger over the Government’s cancellation of an allowance for technicians agreed to by the Post Office and the union. The sparks flew when the president of the Post Office Union, Mr Jim Calder, said: “The problem is our people are virtually starving.” Mr Rodger replied: “Well, I don’t think there’s too many Bangladesh-like, people here.” “You pay my mortgage then, you pay my mortgage, Mr Rodger,” a delegate yelled from the back of the

gathering. Mr Calder added, “It may appear to the Post Office Minister that we have a lot of affluent people sitting around here in their nice suits and ties, but there are a lot of people out there in our manual, non-trades area that are right down on the bones of their backsides.” Mr Rodger conceded that inflation was unacceptably high. Mr Rodger rejected the suggestion that Post Office workers should get part of the Post Office profits. He said State pay fixing was based on comparability with private sector pay rates and basing it on profitabilty would be a big change. A delegate then said, “My members are angry for the action that your Govern-

ment has taken in crushing the deal that the Post Office Union and the Post Office Department made in good faith. “Are you going to do anything to alleviate the immediate pay problems that state servants, especially the Post Office Union members, have, right now?” Mr Rodger replied, “Not right now, no.” In the formal section of his speech to the conference Mr Rodger said: “We very much regret the position we were placed in regarding allowances for some of your members.” “We understand the anger that will be felt by those workers affected, but we simply could not allow an arrangement that was contrary to the law and Government economic policy.”

Mr Rodger said that the “12-month rule” — that pay rates and other conditions could be adjusted only once every pay round — was an important part of the Government’s wages policy. Mr Rodger did concede that State pay rates had fallen behind private sector pay rates and said, “The 1985-86 annual general pay adjustment... will include a catch-up to reflect the differences between private and State sector pay movements since last November.” Mr Rodger also said there would be a review of pay rates for occupational groups among Government employees where staff losses showed that pay rates and other conditions were out of touch with the private sector.