STILL WAITING

Evening Post, Issue 88, 12 April 1924, Page 8

STILL WAITING

THE PROMISED P,! AND T. SALARY , ■..-.- r : , ..-. SCHEDULES. .-.'■,

_ The position of the Post and Telegraph Officers Association ;in •' regard to the present, situation' ..-vyaff explained . this morning. by the secretary (Mr H E Combs)/ who said that the executive: .■was still waiting'for the salary sched-ules-which-ths- Postmaster-General had promised would be submitted either yesterday or-to-day. '.-At .noon,'to-day these had not come, to hand, and-thV.Pos.tmas-tor-General had been-asked when/ they . could: be, expected. ..... \-~:X, ' V :"'...■ ; -.. ,The>Posf.and Telegraph employees recognised, said Mr. Combs/thafthe'.question of. salaries for-the rank and file was purely one for the Government, as the salary. ;Schedules -..were, laid, down by .Regulation "and any change' meant an Or-der-in-Council; : covering the1 revised schedule. The Postmaster-General had .informed the committee that the Gov- ■ ernrnent's--proposals would be considered by Cabinet oh' Thursday or Friday cf,this week, and until they received - them. the.committee was unable to make any. progress. The Service- proposals ypre quite, clear, viz., a revision of the schedules so that they would provide a pay envelope tho ' contents of which' would maintain the present-day Post and ' TelegTaph worker at at least the same of comfort as was possible to him in 1914. • Th,e committee feit. and their opinion wa-s shared throughout the Service, that the. concessions made in the last twelve months.-, to the users of the Service. ... amounting on the Prime estimate to a quarter .of a million pounds •per- annum, indicated very . clearly that the* Department could afford to pay every man, woman, and boy an adequate'wage—one that took into full account, the .duties, responsibilities, knoiv- . ledge; ;'sldli^ |( and efficiency demanded, and 'the; maintenance 'ofa proper standard' of "living" ' ' . : ;-Mr. Combs added that while awaiting the arrival of the. promised scheduled , the executive /had a. further short conference with the representatives of the Railway Service. '' ... ,