GOOD FRIDAY TRAMS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 173, 15 April 1908, Page 8

GOOD FRIDAY TRAMS.

EMPLOYEES WANT A HOLIDAY. V THEIR REQUEST NOT GRANTED. : DISCUSSION BY CITY COUNCIL. '■>.•; Tho City Counoil-was called upon yester/"day"to deal with a now labour difficulty in connection with the tramway omployees. A •/ • number of .the men object to working on Good Friday, and -Mr. W. T.: Young,. Secre- ' taryto the Tramway Employcos' Union, has written to the Council on tho subject. An informal meeting- of tho., City. Council wa? , held at 12.30 p.m. yesterday to consider tho' situation. Tho Mayor (Hon. T. W. Hislop) / presided; and there were also present Councillors Morrah, Luke, • Fisher, -Cohen; Biss, Halos, Ballinger, Smith, Fletcher, and ■ M'Larcn. • REMARKS BY THE.MAYOR. \ The Mayor-road the Union's lotter addressed- to the Council. The letter stated ■ tliat'vthb'.Uniori; had 'had [utider' consideration 0: the decision of tho Council : to run trams on : Good Friday, and thought it somewhat unreasonable. to expect them to .'work 1 on, tho day in question or on Christmas Day. They . therefore asked tho-Council to reconsidor its . - decision, with a.view.to laying it down as a : general ; principle that tho tramway •employees /should he permitted to enj'oy. those • .holidays' with the rest of the^'community. .. ....... The Mayor also read a similar '■ letter ad-. / dressed by the Union to Mr'.' Stuart Richardson,' City Electrical Engineer. / This letter • . concluded with the suggestion that, in the event of the Council adhering to- its de- ■, ■ cision to run tho .'trams' on Good Friday, he should call for volunteers to do the work, ■ /as there were many employees who did not caro to work on that'day. _ ' ' To this Mr. 'Richardsoif had' added a memo: —"If we ask for volunteers we may get no response, !or not enough men 'and officers to run the service. The present'position is that the■■ men are paid for a day's i work, whether they work or not. If they ; t work, .they get an ordinary•• day's pay in ' addition.": ; f ■ In answer to questions, the Mayor on the authority of the Electrical Engineer, that the . running of. the trains last Good ■ , z Friday resulted in a slight -loss to tho Cor••f- 'poration.. About £243 was taken sin' fares, ■ including- tho suburban '-lines/' 34,000 tickets -..-■. being'issued. The-service proposed\for tho coming Good ■■■Friday comprised trams in the • morning to • connect with . the 'excursion > trains; and an. afternoon and evening service the same as on-Sundays.' . ■ .' Councillor Coheii: Look at tho inconveni- • _ enco to thoso 34;000 people, if the trams are .not to be-run! .i s/ _ MOTION BY, MR. LUKE. '-Councillor :Luko:sa,id,the Union was put- / tinjj tho Council ill a ■ rathor extraordinary position-at,_the last'moment. If anyone had strict religious . scruples: about 'working :on . Good -Friday, , they could understand and -.- sympathise,'■-:but{he objected •to tho actionof' the .tramway men in. intimating; that they . would :npt"!fall/into, linewith- the wishes of .'■■'/ the The straight course for the Council to take, was ;to ask-the men* to fall' ■ into Kne, 'so-.that tho cars could be run in the interests;of the public. He moved that ■ the .tramway service on Good Friday' be. as , recommended by ,tho Tramways Committee';, and,approved by the Council.: He conceded' .that it might be right far tho Council'to . lay. down .a.' difforent policy .next year, aftor , . the-present incident- was closed. Tho- motion , was seconded 'by : Councillor Cohen. ■ • . . • ■.' ■■.. ■' ... AN AMENDMENT. , Councillor. M'Laren said: that tho general . . public, whose interests they had . been asked to consider,, wasoften an unfeeling mass.- " ".'There';were. people who 'would be quite scru- • pulous "about . Midays for themselves, and who would -look, not for one or two days, but - ; for a month's -vacation. Such people insisted fthst the. .public conveniencej imean--ing thereby their -own convenience, should ! vibe closely attendecPto. He believed the'mon ■ in tho.Wellington'/tramway service. wore the ■ - finest:set of men in any tramway service in this country. Tbey should not' be required ,to , work on Christmas' Day or - Good Friday. - 110 moved that no trams bo Tun on Good Friday. ■."•■: The amendment was not seconded, v. - Councillor Smith said that as the trains /. and boats • would . ruh on . Good- Friday the people would reqoire -the trams. A limited sorvice should be run. The Council would ■ not do this to make money, as all the men would get. a day's . pay, and thoso who . worked .would get double,pay.' . ,Ic was stated;by one of the officials, in .reply to a question, that 180 men "would ba ■ required'to work in the morning, and 243 . in tho afternoon : and evening. t /■■■'. Councillor Ballingor. supported Councillor . Luke's resolution.-.. ; , , Councillor. Biss said that the Dunedin City Council decided not to run trams on Good -.//'.Friday;"but. there .was such' an outcry that / they. had; to -rescind' their,.'resolution. The ■ Council _ should' consider !the'interests of the / people in tho suburbs, who would want to ■. V. get into, town; and '.also 1 tho .visitors. to the '/ /;'//:.:' j ".V r;'■/ /■'■ : v : DOUBLE- WAGES AND DOUBLE FARES. ■/■/,■■■: Councillor Ballinger, suggested, that; -as double warns would have to be .'paid, doubio fares should be. charged on Good Friday. Councillor Fletcher ■ said / his sympathies • were largely, with/the'men,, but the men on the railways and steamboats;had to work in ■■-,-/■ order that the general public could enjoy the holiday; - /He- thought l a-Sunday service should be run this-time, 1 and vthe;whole ject- could -be' broughtup' again! He ' would charge extra fares to :>llow '_the "men more ..' extra-pay than they now got.' : The Mayor said it'was :a pity the Council had not time to/consider the question propsrly. There was ■ something to be' said on - tho. men's- side,] ;'l)ut they should have ox- '■■ pressed their views, earlier.. 'The fact, that -tho- provided''"extra/wages : for; ■ Good Friday showed that work on that"'day was contemplated. ■•■.'•. ' , //. Councillor Luke said the Corporation cmr ■ nloyccs were very well treated in rospcct of liolidays. "They got. eight days in' the year, ' ; apart from Good.Friday and Christmas' Diy. : • Tho motion .was carried on the voices.. , ATTITUDE OF THE EMPLOYEES. MANY 'WILL KEEP THE HOLIDAY. .;/ I : : Mr.; ;W'. -T.; Youiig,_ secretary, to the.Tram- • way -, Employees' Union'; ,-when .: seen by .- a Doiunion - reporter, /said ■ that Union ■ would'not .hold : a meeting before; Good Fri-. day to consider; tho decision of the Council. ■>-- Their -letter to.' the 'Electricali Engineer' in- ■ dicated that they had already-made up their minds ~what' to• uo in the 'event of their re- :: auest - not being -favourably received /by: the Council. He: beliovcd that a good many of the men would' decline to go t on duty on Good Friday.