TELEGRAPH OFFICE DISMISSALS

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 81, 30 December 1929, Page 8

TELEGRAPH OFFICE DISMISSALS

THE ACTUAL CHARGE STATED “WRONGFUL DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION” OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY SECRETARY In an official statement regarding the recent dismissal of telegraph employees at Auckland. the secretary of the department states that the men were not charged with using office telephones to lay bets; the allegation was that the officers concerned had made use of information which came to them in their official position. The actual charge against the six members of the operating room staff of the Auckland Post Office, dismissed following the recent inquiry, was made public for the first time on Saturday by the Secretary of the Department (Mr. G. McNamara) in a statement to a “Dominion” representative. Mr. McNamara said that a wrong impression had been created by the Press statements that the men were charged with using office telephones to lay bets on races at the Takapuna Jockey Club’s meeting. The men had not been so charged. The allegation inquired into by the Magistrate was that the officers had disclosed information which came to them in their official position; that was, that they had made use of information contained in telegrams dealt with by them.

Report Not for Publication.

In reply to a question, Mr. McNamara said that the report of Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., who inquired into the charges, would not be made available for publication. He added that each of the men dismissed would be entitled to a refund of the total amount he had contributed to the superannuation fund. All had a right of appeal against the penalty of dismissal imposed. In regard to the cases of the three other men against whom charges had been made, Mr. McNamara said that one had been found not guilty, while the others had explained themselves satisfactorily. On£ of the latter was a boy, a distributor, who appeared to have been influenced in his offence by his elders. He was being punished by being relieved of distributing work and given other duties. APPEAL TO POSTMASTERGENERAL RECEIPT OF PAPERS AWAITED. On Saturday the Postmaster-General (Rt. Hon. Sir Joseph Ward) received a telegram from the staff of the Auckland Post Office stating that in their opinion the sentence imposed was out of all proportion to the alleged offence and asking Sir Joseph to “immediately give his personal attention to this most urgent and serious matter with a view to a more humane sentence being imposed.” Sir Joseph Ward replied that he would give the matter his attention as soon as the papers dealing with the inquiry were received by him. MAGISTRATE’S REPORT FINDING NOT DISCLOSED. In a statement on Saturday the organiser of the Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association, Sir. H. H. Brown, who was one of the two representatives of the association at the Magisterial inquiry, said that the penalty inflicted was a severe one when one considered the nature of the charges. The general idea seemed to be that the allegations consisted of charges of betting with bookmakers, but he said he wished to make it quite clear that that was contrary to fact. The men concerned were charged with discussing racing matters over the telephone; there was nothing in the nature of laying bets iu that. What they had done was nothing very serious. Mr. Brown said that the Secretary of the Department had arrived, at his decision as the result of the Magistrate’s finding, and in fairness to the men concerned Mr. Hunt’s finding should be announced. So far, he said, the men had not been so informed. Men To Appeal. According to a special message from Auckland the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association has already taken action in the direction of an appeal being lodged before the P. and T. Appeal Board. In the meantime the staffs of the Post Office were getting in touch with local members of Parliament to see if something could not be done to have/he sentences revised.