RAILWAY GRIEVANCES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 5

RAILWAY GRIEVANCES.

STATION-MASTER'S WRONCS. ' "A SLAVE-DRIVEN SERVICE." ■■ •> Enquiries made by a "Dominion" . ibpreepiitative have elicited evidence to' , show .that there is a good 'deal to be said' in support of "The, W'ailof the Stationniasteri" the circular re-published in our issue 'of, Monday last. One' informant states that- tlie staff, pf the First Division is in a state .of seething discontent, and resignations are being handed 'iii regularly. •'.-•■■ "Nagged to Death." ■ . * A statipnmaster, who has retired from ,tho ; service, owing, it is' stated, to overwork,' underpay,. and the fact that he was being "nagged to. death!' over trivial .details, informed, our representative that the condition ■ of the Department was a disgrace, to th» State. He know of eases, he "said, where ' stntionmastcrs had. repeatedly, been on duty all night, and were expected, and indeed were forced, to bo on duty again at 8 o'clock, in the morning.' On some of the big country stations, the stationmasters were -.. almos't strangers to their homes. The great trouble was the : fact. that the stations were understalfed, and men found that they cpukl not cope with the work. At Greatford !rccontlv tne stationmaster had rcsignod, arid the position was refused by half-a-dozen meii,! simply because there was too much work to attend' to in the timo. In Taihape the stationmaster was worked to a standstill, and had to be shifted. Masterton was anotlior statiorl where tho head was . notoriously overworked,' and , nearly-all the ether stations .".in' tho North :lsland were smilarly affected. / " : ■ '■••.: Clerks Civing Out; ■ : , '. ■~ Clerks and cadets were having as bad' a .time-as .the stationmasters: The mcii" who run the trains were at the mercy of short-' hand and . typewriting youths, whoso! communications were couched ■ most offonsivoly, and only calculated to'stir further into rebellion the smouldering fires of'.discontent.' A'oo'nc could nm trains every day ; to ..tho' time-table, said bur informant. .Tlio,Depart-ment'knew-tliat, but.made n practice of writing hasty' letters to., stationm.isters, who had ' already forwarded an explanation -as to'the delay—an explanation which, ; in' 'liinb' cases' out of ten,'was reasonable. Mo Appeal, : , ~,, ■..--. The First Division- was', controljed by'an Officers' Institute, which was riot "worth'its salt. It was run by tho liighor.'qmcers, who were subservient to tho heads ■ of the Department, and practically controlled by, them. This was especially so on the Wangariui section. If a man appealed he was, ; "set.".! ; I was a recognised tact in the sciric'e that's , man. never gained anything by-appealing. ■Jlip Minister- for' Railways- in- , formntion at his command which this statement, , still nothing had been dorra' to. alleviate. , tho 'injnrr. It sometimes h'ap-' pened that a .man- did gain his •'point"by'ini' l appeal, but in n. short' tirrin 'bo would find' Himself despatched to some outlandish p'lacs as a reward for his ■temCTity."'."V'O.ur."mtormant stated that he could cite innumerablo cases where men had been treated'most unjustly in'every phase. It was- not safohowever, to particularise the cases," but "the 1 Department knew very well that the alle'"a■tion was correct.'-.' ~ '•■•' - '■'.' ■■ -i . The! Solution. .-': •;•' -:!;■* ".■; '.'.The business required'the investigation' of independent,, capablo men, and' Win ' First' Division -should then join the Outside .Division s;society,, which has. a union,, unci.. was thus-placed in a much better, position'for!the . enforcing of its demands. •. -..,;:.',!..:.';"