RAILWAY EMPLOYEES' GRIEVANCES.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 128, 31 May 1904, Page 2

RAILWAY EMPLOYEES' GRIEVANCES.

MINISTER AND DELEGATES MEET. LONG SHIFTS EEDUCKD. OTHER CONCESSIONS AND REFUSALS. A solid sitting Insting from 4.30 o'clock yesterday afternoon till 7.50 p.m. was the outcome of (ho mooting between the Minister fop Railways, Sir Josoph Ward, nnd a deputation of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants regarding the society's requests. Tho number of tho requests ran to 113, and tho bulk of them wore discussed seriatim. The society's delegates were — Messrs. T. Wilson (President, Palmerston North), J. M'Cullough (Canterbury), T. Watson (Canterbury), jM, Thomas (lnvercargill), J. Warren (Auckland), ]). Wilson (Dimedin), and W. J. Edwards (hieoretaiy). The Minister raid ho would not, at this stag© at any rate, deal with requests previously replied to and refused, Il» would first deal with those in connection wilh which some concession hud been mado. Ho thought probably ho was voioing' even tho deputation's own sentiments when he »aid he considered it was impossible that the confcroncc could have .gone into the full meaning of all their requests, or else — unless thoy had been going on the principle of nsking more than they expected in order to get something — thoy would not hnvo modo a!J those requests. • They knew that in a largo undertaking like the railways money predominated many things, and that where au enormous aggregate sum was involved neither he nor the Government . cou!d assent without getting (tho authority of Parliament. On working out the conference's requests he found they ran into over £165,000 per annum —an enormous sum. Tho calculation was basod on tho present number of employees who would bo offocted under the pro* posals ; it had been carefully chocked, and the result \rns not an exaggeration — ho bad, in fact, statod it on tho. low sido. They must recognise that whnt could bo conceded was • only what was possible and ( within certain limits, and they must 'rccogniso tho Government's responsibility in tho'matter. Tho Minister then proceeded to deal with a number of- tho requests seriatim : "That spring-makers be entered as a distinct class in tho Classificitiou Act. sohedules and inD3." Spring-makers would in futuro Go shown separately in tho D 3 as requested. "That woodworking machinists be paid same Mages as outside workers in samo trade." Tho ,rat« of pay for those machinist? would have boon — and wonld be — amended next timo tho classification Act was amended. Tho amending of tho Act involved a large question which at tho moment ho could not possibly settle. When it was amended the rates of those machinists would bo settled. "That tho maximum percentage in gntdos be mnintninod all lb« 3*oar round by permanently filling vacancies in such gnvdes iw soon an t-ttfy occur, thono filling them to roceivo the pay attached thereto from tho dato of rhoir taking up their" duties." Thii waa now dono wlierewr posxiblo, and would ctmtiimo to be dono. As there were time* and occasions when the percentage cou'.d not be maintained, it w«» impossible to lay down (i hard and font rule If ho attempted to do so it would mmolimea fail, and thoy would bo able to say that ho had not kept faith with lh«m. A dekgntfl asked if the request would bo carried out as far 1 ns po)wibl<! in r»-' spent, of tho Second Divwion— guard*. driver*, firemen. At present the percentage was only fixed up once a year. The Minister «Ut<Kl that liw statement applied to «1I divisions. 1[« would not dwciMß derailed />necs — it was a gencTal principle. "Tlwt the ])«partiucnt be a*ki i d to abolish the regulations on page 48 of Appendix to Working Time-table, under which signalnum cnun'nt be promoted to first and j^coml gr&d<! in thi* cl««w until ttay hnvo boconw cflicUmt Slorif^ operntoiw," Tho reguUtion would bo cancelled, nnd the* lieceaMi-j arrangements were being mode to include the nltcml Mgubtion in a npw itsrtie of the Appendix. "That each member of tlw ifervioe i-«-cfivo not lean th»n nino (J»y.i' liolid*jr in \\k> yt*v on full pny j that membrra of Second Division be granted Lnbour Dhv w one, of the proponed additional holidays in thwr annual leuvo." With thi« request he would nlflo consider the rcquehtt* in coniwckitHi with the leave rol*. Labour Day would bo granted m nn extra day's loav« pt-r nnnnm, nnd that would be t'ho alteration made instead of the pifcc-menl-ing proposal as to the leave rota. He could nob {jo into tho question of n genoral alteration of holidays «n applying to the Second Division without considering its bearing un the First Uiviniwi, ,-tnd vico versa ; nnd having given the Second Diviniou an extra day, ho would havo to consider au extra dnv ior the First Division, although they had not afeked for it, and tho bulk of them could not got it on Lnbour Day. Thoy must always keep the fact bi'foro them tliat tho railways exislevl to do work when other (K.6pto were not working at all. "That where casuals aro lequired to work In different places to suit tho convenience of tho Department, a workman's pns» be snpplied." This would bo done. "That tho regulations be ho uinonded an to allow of other than departmental oflictnw conducting pioliminnry or private enquiries of oUences or uiiwlemenniiur commitU'd by employees, in accordance with the Minihter'a piomi«e." Tho Minister said he was not very sure what was tho promise referred to, but Iks proposed to confer with the Minister for Justice to sco if it could be nrrunged that a Mngistrato sit on important enquiries into offences by railway employees), In addition to tho ordinary mtn whose duty it, is to enquire. In the they would have one with uo interest on either n\<k, who would act ivitli judicial fainwas in guiding and conU'olling the prucwdings of an enquiry of the kind. "'J hat the Dqiurlmtnl b»: asked that when a departmental enquiry in to be held a member of the Scoond Division hnvo a seat on same, so as to watch tho interest*^ of the Second Division." In view of tho proposed presence of a Magistrate .it these enquiries, this alteration waa not considered necessary, nnd tho men's interests would be- better nitit by the- Magistrate's presence. "That where n. member is plunged with an offenca he bo supplied with a copy of all correspondence nnd lvports relating to his offence to fltmble him to defend himself." The Minister said the principl« of tho request nas right, and it would be met by deciding Mint a precis of tho enso be supplied to tli© member concerned' in time to enable him to prep.«ro his defence, tmd to know what he Imd to nwet. There were times when corre-piHidence could not be aubmitted, and the precis would be ua good. Much prepis would I>d supplied to the member « reasonable timr—if poe#iblo, a we** — befoi-o the enquiry ; this would apply both to anneal cases und tc ordinary enquiries, "lhat tho attention of tho Department be cnllcd to tho length of time '•ten are- k*>pt suspended." lft> «nd tlio (Jenerul Muungcr wen- of opinion the len^Lh ot tune ought to be minimised-, mid whei« n man was **>x«^)« titled atvny from the hud ofHco, nnd it was found hit n!l«geU offence w«» «uch that he would not lw likely to lo»o hi.« position, ho would be teinstuted at onw, mid the question of M'hut imivishmfiit he might undergo would bo considered later. Where it appeared that the alleged utteiieu wn» £eriou9, tho Depart men t would try to ex-

pedito tho decision. "Tlwt a week's work for a week's yay in bfcond Division bo 48 hours pe-r week throughout tho (service, and all time worked in excess of 48 hours in any ono week bo allowed for at overtime rnfes. That no engmemnn, fireman, or guard be kept on duty exceeding 14 hours at one spell ; that when cngincmen nnd firemen and guards arc called upon to work ovor fourteen hours per day, thoy ba paid at rato of timo and a quarter for all timo worked over tlio fourteen hours." The Minister in this connection wont, as regards maximum daily «hift, two hours belter than tho Conference asked, stilting that for engineinoii, firemen, and guards the maximum working hours 111 a day would bo twelve, including standing time. A lnrgo number of runs had already been altered accordingly. A fixed 48 hours' week all round wan impossible. At present four-fifths of tho servico had a 48 hours' week, but with certain employe*™ 54 hours was the limit, though for signallors the' average actually worked wna 51 or 52. If the 48 hoars' week was applied absolutely to signalmen, it would mean having to employ two men to work an average of 52 ■ hours a week — ono man extra to provide for an excess of four hours. That would not be possible except by recasting tho rato of pny the men got— which course he know would not bo acepted— so as to make tho men's weekly pay suitable to the short hours they worked. Mr. Warren suggeatod that acting-men should relievo the signalmen of tho extra three or four hours, thus not necessitating tho employment of extra men. The Miniistor replied that »igna linen only should as a rule bo allowed in the signal-box, and trained men at that. If thoy allowed porters or shunlera to act ns signalmen and an accident happened, the whole voice of public opinion would bo^ against tho administration. If it was laid down that signalmen ehouß woik only forty-eight hours a week, thr employment of extra men would bring the work of each down to about twenty-eight and a half hours a wook. Under, present conditions, work beyond the weekly timelimit was allowed for by pa3'nient of overtime or by time off. The President stated that in a great many instances men working extra time neither wore paid overtime for it nor got timo off. Mr* Thomne remnrked that nt tho Bluff shunters had been woiking sixty hours and seventy houra and not getting time off. The Minister said if there wero such eases, the proper course for tho men was to report them cither through their superior officers or through tho representative of their society. To-day he was dealing with principle*, not individual cases. With regnrd to enginemon, firomen, and gunrds, ho had made it dear that their maximum daily hour* were reduced to twelve, and that thoy would bo paid timo and a quarter overtime for timo worked in excoss of their fifty-four hours' week. Tho President stated that in cutting up tho runs under the new system &ome ease* of hardship were unavoidable. In oases where men could otherwise not got homo, he suggested that, if they liked, they, be allowed to work up to fourteen hour*. The Minister replied that the rule ] would bo e-Wtio'to conform to reasonable requirement. Mr. M'Cullough, who stated thnt tho railway torvicos in the other colonies gavo a forty-eight hours' wock, appealed to the Minister to split the difference with' regard tq those who worked fiftyfour, and mnko it fifty-one. Standingtime vriw now almost a thing of the pnbt. Men in other occti|>ation« with a forty- 1 four hours' or forty-eight hours' week nneered at men working fifty-four hour*. The Minister Raid his opinion was that , tho railway men were looked on as tho " whito-hairrd boys of the country." There had for yen'ra been a graduul improvement in their position, and that was going on the ri«ht road, but to foeu* »U improvement Into a yoai or two would bring a reaction. If the Government convntod to ndd tho £165.000 per annum B«kcd for, they would find in the House of Reprewentativw n strong reaction. This money would havo to ro on j to the railway rates, and thus decrease the amount of biismo*** dono, or it would I havo to be found in some form in taxu- ( tion—-«omu one would have to pay for it. In reply to 'an ipteijeolion thnt houro hud not been reduced for (ourtoen yoarn, tho Minister said thnt in that period , thero had been in pay, and in come cam in hours, very great concessions, lie was prepared to consider the proposed couma of frying between the forty-eight hours ' (which \*m financially impo*sib!e) nnd tho fifty-four hours. The. cost of iweh a middle course had not vet been worked 1 out. no would work it out, ami he «nd i hi* col'fftguoij would conrldor wbfthcr or not tho concession conld be granted. The request that the Addingtnn signal-box bo 1 clashed as " important " (nnd to carry tho extro Is per day to signalmen) would | ho granted. A* to the question of agolimit in the maintenance dopurtmorit of Iho service, fixed at forty -five, he would strike that out as requewtfd. A* to tho ! coMjof men called upon to inspect lengths , other than in fhe ordinary course of work , boing paid for ,rimo, eocli cane -voii'd ho • considered on ita merits • there could be