KELBURN TRAMWAY

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 119, 13 February 1940, Page 14

KELBURN TRAMWAY

Employees Apply lor New Award CON CILI AT lON CO UNC IL Au application by the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Tramway Authorities’ Industrial Union of Workers for a new award lot' the employees of the Kelburue and Karoi’i Tramway C 0... Bld., came before a Conciliation Council yesLerduj. Messrs. G. N. Amos, E. Higgs and P. A. Hansel) (secretary I were the assessors for the union, and Messrs. J. Darling (general manageri and C. T. Cox (secretary). with Mr. W. J. Mountjoy as advocate. appeared lor the company. . Mr. M. J . Reardon, concilia lion commissioner, presided. . . The union proposed that the minimum rates of hourly wages should be: Gripmen. 2/8; ropemen. 2/9; general hands, 2/8; cleaners, 2/7; ticket clerks. 1/7. The company made the following coun-ter-proposals : Gripmeu, 2/o; ropemen, 2/6; general hands. 2/5; cleaners, 2/4; ticket clerks, 1/4. Mr. Mountjoy said that when the last award was made 1.5 months ago the country was not at war and there was a good prospect of the company making increased profits as a result of the holding of the Centennial Exhibition. Now, however, the future was not so bright. There wa« a prospect of the city council giving a new tramway service to residents in the western area which might take passengers from the Kelburn tram. Petrol restrictions would no doubt prevent many persons coming to Wellington and thousands of men were leaving the country for military service overseas. The future was very difficult. Mr. Hansen, advocate for the union,, said the company had always brought forward the same arguments. Position Of Company.

He quoted from a review by a financial writer in a weekly journal of the position of the company for 1938 and 1939. This, he said, stated that the accounts of the company for December, 1938, showed a considerable rise in passenger traffic and a higher total for traffic receipts, and tor gross net profit than in 1937. Gross profit for 1938 was £11,610 (traffic receipts £11,346) as against £11,214 in 1037 (traffic receipts £10,957), a rise of £396. Ibis, however, was largely cancelled out by increased expenses and taxation, and net profit at £1972 was £47 up on the previous figure of £1925. The usual 5 per cent, dividend called for £l5OO, and the surplus of £472 raised the profit and loss balance to £1679. Gross profits and traffic, the article stated, had been on the upgrade since 1933. Gross profit was £9204 in 1934 and net profit £1736, while in IJ3o the gross figure improved to £10.209 anti net profit, after transferring £lOOO to depreciation reserve, was £1250. Up to 1930 a 10 per cent, dividend had been usual for some years, but the payment dropped to 7 per cent, in 1931 and has stood nt a per cent, ever since. The debenture float fell from £15,000 to £9400 at the 1038 balance, and this balance carried only the moderate interest rate of 4 per cent, lhe company had applied its liquids to this partial redemption and also had recourse to the bank for a small margin of the.required sum. The shares were not active, but sellers had been asking 23/-. lhe position of the company had been on the upgrade for several years. In reply to Mr. Hansen s quotation, ot the company's trading figures for some years past and contention that the proiits. plus the provision for depreciation, were largely in excess of the dividends paid, Mr. Cox contested the suggestion that depreciation should be lidded to such profit in order to arrive at the real earnings. He maintained that 5 per cent, was a modest rate of dividend for a commercial undertaking ami that the company was justified in gradually building up a reserve, if possible, to. enable it to provide for the repayment of loan moneys. In reply to Mr. Hansen’s statement that the company’s revenue was increasing year by year, Mr. Cox said that it had by no means got back to pre-depression figures, and that comparison of the gross income for 1935, the year before the introduction of the 40-hour week with 1939 showed an increase of £1438, while the wages for 1939 were £1217 higher than in Agreement was reached on a number of minor clauses, but no agreement could be come to regarding wages, and at o p.m. the dispute was adjourned till next Monday morning at 10.30 o’clock.