RAILWAY SHUNTERS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 150, 29 June 1925, Page 12

RAILWAY SHUNTERS

GRIEVANCES VENTILATED.

After tha ordinary business had been dealt with, a special meeting of the Thorndori branch of the Amalgamated Society of Eailway Servants was held on Saturday, to which local. and other members of Parliament were invited in order that the grievances, of shunters might be placed before, them. The M.P.'s present were Sir John Luke and Messrs. Fraser, Monteith; Howard, Parry, Bartram, and Langstone. Apologies for non-attendance were received from Messrs. Holland and M'Uvride.. Tho various speakers went into exhaustive details regarding the causes attributed by them of the , accident*, many of: which were fatal, to men employed in shunting work. Included in the alleged reasons were continual pinpricking by officials, speeding-up, inadequate staffing, employment of inexperienced men, long hours,- insufficient lighting in railway yards, rules which it, was impossible to observe, condition of yards in wet weather—it was stated that sometimes the shunters had to work in water over their boot-tops— congested state of the yards, and other minor complaints.

The point was stressed that the Prime' Minister conld riot expect the ieam■work he advocated if the men.were not granted conditions o£ working that allowed them to give of their heet. They .were desirous o'fTshowing that the' Stateowned railways could give the best possible service to the commnnity, hut was impossible to do that unless there were material improvement in the conditions pf working. Representations had been made repeatedly to the Department, but without result. .The following motion was carried unanimously:— "That members of the Thorndon branch of the A.S.E.S. desire to again direct attention to the exacting and dangerous nature of the work engaged in by the shunters, to the long hoars and wretched conditions of working; urge the National Executive to at once approach the management and the Minuter of Railways, in order that the conditions of working of shunters may be drastically improved; and, in the event of failure to move the management or the Ministry in the matter, the question be referred by petition to Parliament " _Sn- John Luke and Messrs. FraseV Parry, . Bartram, and Langstone spoks sympatheticaUy. regarding the matters that had been brought under their notice^and promised to do all that was possible to have the grievances of the shunters redressed.