SUPERANNUATED CIVIL SERVANTS

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 49, 26 February 1921, Page 9

SUPERANNUATED CIVIL SERVANTS

REQUEST -FOR CONTINUANCE OF

BONUS.

A special general meeting of tho Wellington, branch of the swperannuat«d Civil servants was held yesterday afternoon, Captain W. de 11.' Baa-clay being in the chair. The chief business discussed to the continuance of the payment of a bonus to superannuated Oivil servants till the end of the fin>ancial year, 1921-1922, and, in this respect, the chairman-moved the following comprehensive motion :— ' "That the Right Hon. the Prime Minister, in his reply to the representative deputation of members of superannuated servants in September last, was sympathetic, and in general accord with the prayer of tho petition, the charge of which he-undertook for presentation to Parliament, and: seeing that in result the Government had thought it proper to grant' bonuees to individual beneficiaries under the Superannuation Act, this local executive resolves that the following are just grounds for further request : (a) That the limit of £100 as d*fr termining who should benefit under the distribution of the bonuses is too narrow. (b) That the maximum, amount of £40, to be added to the existing superannuation received, is gratefully acknowledged as a. tempoiary help, inasmuch as it has tested the value of such aid in relation to the actual increase in the cost of living. (c) Such assistance to tide over a very critical period has proved inadequate to meet the urgent needs of the recipients. Of thits fact the association has received ample evidence. (d) Therefore it is an urgent appeal that the bonus at least be continued for the financial year, 1921-22. (c) Any reduction in the cost of living up to the present has not substantially affected the necessary commodi-. ties of life, and, as' there is nothing yet to encourage the hope that prices ■ will fall 'materially within the corning financial year, we urge your serious and effective consideration of our re-

quest for a renewal of the bonus."

A copy, of the resolution will be for-ward-ed to the Prime Minister and to each member of Parliament. /

Captain Barclay said that the aswciation was grateful for what had already been done, but not enough had lxen done. Widows of ex-Civil servants were in receipt of £18 per annum, and that was obviously not sufficient. Under the bonus scheme widows did not receive the maximum bonus of £40, but merely £26. ,The grant of £100,000 set aside for the purpose of providing, the bonus would, the Prime Minister had stated in answer to the a.ssociation, be practically all taken tip by the end of the financial year.- . :

Mr. H. E. Gilbert, in seconding the motion, said that the association had not asked for merely temporary assistance, but had requested an annual assistance. Some temporary .assistance had been granted, and now the association had to keep the ball rolHng, and if a renewal of the bonus was granted this yea.r something more substantial might be asked for next year.

Mr. G. Girling-Butaher spoke in a similar strain,. stressing th© point that' the association would not cease in ite endeavours to obtain a measure of permanent relief to those who were not receiving adequate benefit under the present system. At present, however, no more than the renewal of- the bonus waa asked.

Th© motion was carried unanimously. A further motion by Mr. Gniing-But-cher, to the effect that the Wellington executive should take steps to bring about a federation of the various branches of the association, with headquarters in Wellington, met with full support from the meeting. The mover said that, were a federation brought about, it was much more probable that the Government would be approached in a mor.e reasonable manner.