RAILWAY DISPUTES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 234, 28 June 1920, Page 6

RAILWAY DISPUTES

FIRST DIVISION CASE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE Tho Conciliation Committee investigating the claims of the First Division members of the itailivay .Service has eouciuded its sittings, it is reportw't that tho following subjects were discussed and recommendations made to' the' Government as shown:— Salaries and Allowances—That the ■bonus now being pnid to members ot tho I'irst Division be cancelled as on and after April 1, 1920, and tliJit a bonus at the rate of .£'2o per annum be granted to each member of grade 8 (cadets), and a bonus at the rate of .£SO per annum bo granted to each member of grades 2 to 7 inclusive, and to each casual clerical employee, and the captains, mates, and engineers of the Lake U'akatipu steamer service, as on and after April 1, 1920; that the bonus recommended for grades 2 to 7 be taken into con. sideration with respect to tho salaries of members of grade 1, Cadets' Lodging Allowance—This to bo: sub-grade 1, .£4O per innum; subgrade 2, i3O per annum; sub-grade 3, MO per annum, Married Members.—That the minimum rato of pay for married members be .£lB7 10s. per annum. Casual Clerks.—That -.asual clerks bo eligible to advance to the maximum rate of pay provided for grade 7. ■ Lake- Wakatipu Officers.—Tlmt the maximum of salaries payable to captains, engineers, and mates of the Lako Wakatipu steamer aery-ice bo increased. Hours of Duty.—The hours of duty to be worked by the officers at centres to be specified later wore fixed at 33 per week. At other places the hours to be 48 per week, time off.to bo given for all time worked in excess of '18 hours per week. Provision is made in t!«e recommendation on this .question for duty to be continuous with tho exception of tho necessary interval for meals, and for seven hours to constitute an "all-night' shift. Sunday Duty—Briefly stated, the recommendation on thds matter is that, provided tho officer concerned hns completed ft week's work prior to entering upon the Sunday, all timo worked between midnight Saturday and midnight Sunday, shall stand by itself and bo paid for at Sunday rates. Where an officer is specially brought on duty on Sundav pavment shall be as for' a minimum of four hours if the time worked is less than that. Tho scale of pay for 'Sunday duty ranges from te. per hour in the case of officers in receipt of over ,£270 per annum to 2s. 3d. per hour for officers in receipt cf not more tlnn .£165, the amount of any bonus to be taken into account in arriving at the annual rato of pay for the purpose of this clause. All time worked on Christmas Day and Good Friday is to be paid for at Sunday rates. Annual Leave—Annual leave to be brought into uniformity with that of tie Public Service, with tho proviso that each member shall bo entitled to baveone dav added to his annual leave for each of the following days on which he may have been on duty, viz., Christmas Day Good Friday. Soveviegn's Birthday, Labour Day, Anzac Day, and Dominion Day. and that the limitation cf accumulated leave to 42 days bo cancelled. It was further recommended that the "leave rota" bo abolished so far as the officers were'concerned. ■ • Other recommendations made by the committee provide for increased travelling allowances, for a reduction in the time necessary for a member to serve in A wade to qualify, for tho maximum superannuation retiring allowance in -respect to such grade, for provision being made to enable a member, to give notice of his intention to retire on superannuation a): an earlier time than is at present allowed by the Act, and an increase in the leave allowed to a member retiring on superannuation.