RAILWAY STAFFING

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 171, 16 April 1942, Page 8

RAILWAY STAFFING

Difficulties Caused By War Conditions

WORK GREATLY INCREASED Dominion Special Service.' NAPIER, April 15. Appealing for 35 railway employees called in the recent ballot, Mr. L. Anderson, assistant staff superintendent, Wellington, at a sitting of the No. 7 Manpower Committee today said that the department’s pre-war staff of approximately 25,765 had been reduced by about 8000 by enlistments and resignations. Mr. Anderson said that in all 5779 employees had been released for military duties and in addition 2143 had been lost through resignations, deaths, etc. The department was making every possible effort to replace this loss and 3024 permanent staff employees had been engaged since September, 1939, and an additional 800 females had been engaged for clerical work. One of the difficulties the department had to face was that it had been called on to form several specialist companies. Giving evidence of the difference the petrol restrictions, centralized shipping and military requirements had made to the department’s business, Mr. Anderson stated that there had been an annual increase of 3,000,000 passenger journeys over 1939 and the goods tonnage had increased annually by 800,000 tons. This had involved an additional 500,000 train miles and 800,000 engine miles, the latter figure being increased by the use of two engines on one train. He stated that the general loss suffered was shown by the fact that various branches had worked 100,000 hours overtime in the last four-weekly period and the stage had now been reached where there was a 54-hour week in the workshops and up to 60 and 70 on the locomotive side. In fact conditions were such that the Prime Minister had recently ordered the return of men to relieve the position, as it was felt that the department could not take a risk with public safety and troop movements. He added that no leave had been granted since last September and this was very undesirable because of the strain on the men in the Hutt workshops. For instance, the daily loss through various causes was 138 men and there was little doubt that this was due in certain measure to the strain of work without holiday leave. Mr. Anderson said that about 1800 were employed in workshops.