P. AND T. SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 35, 10 August 1927, Page 10

P. AND T. SERVICE

INCREASING DUTIES

DAY OF SPECIAL TRAINING

'THE BEST DEPAETMENT'

The annual reunion of the members of the Wellington section of tho New Zealand Post and Telegraph Employees' Association was hold in tho Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last night. Mr. Tobin presided over an attendance of about 250, and there were in posts of honour the PostmasterGeneral (the Hon. Mr. W. Nosworthy), the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department (Mr. G. M'K'amara), and Messrs. R. M'Keen, P. Fraser, H. Atlnore, E. A. Ransom, aud T. Forsyth, M.P.'s. Apologies were received from the Prime Minister (the Bight Hon. J. G. Coates), the Leader of the Labour Party (Mr. H. E. Holland), Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., and many others. c ALWAYS THE BEST. Mr. A. T. Markman, former Secretary of the Department, prosposing the toast of the "Postmaster-General and the Department," Baid that it was only a twelvemonth since he had replied to the toast he now proposed. It was often said nowadays at Home and abroad that the P. and T. Department was the best conducted Department in the State, but that was nothing new, because as long ago as 1850 Mr. Smith at a Reform Party function deploring the careless hand on expenditure on other Departments, had alluded to the Postal Department of that day as an example of economical management. It was a much wider field that the Department of to-day covered. It was said that it was achieving a monopoly of the air— (laughter—quite a different time to that of 1850, when it was a matter of congratulation that the salary of the Postmaster-General had been raised to £300-a year. Then the total population of Wellington was some 1500 persons, not many more than were occupied in the Chief Post Office to-day, while the total revenue was not much more then than £1500. Then the Colonial Secretary's Department (the Internal Affairs Department of to-day) was incorporated with and controlled by the Postal Department. Notwithstanding all that the Department had to do to-day he believed it could absorb the Internal Affairs Department without much trouble, because it was.so used to handling work outside its own job. He honestly believed that the Postal Department was as good as any postal department in the world. A DEPARTMENTAL SURPLUS. He believed that the excess of revenue over expenditure would be this year something between £800,000 and £900,000. That was brought about not alone by the increased population, but by good management and co-operation between the Minister and the staff. POSTMASTER-GENERAL'S ADDRESS.

The Hon. "W. Nos..ortlv , replying to the toast, expressed lii_ pleasure at being present, and spoke of tlu importance of the conference bchi,- held. "Owing to my absenea from Wellington," said Mr. Nosworthy, "I was not able to accept your kind invitation to open your i-.oiif ere nee. A

conference, * such is you are holding in Wellington nt present must be of great benefit to the officers ;uid to the Department, as it is only on such occasions that the voice of the service as a whole can be heard. lam given to understand that you have representatives from all over the Dominion and from all branches, and that you will be drawing up remits for submission to the Government and to the Department. It devolves on you as representatives of the staff to consider very carefully matters brought up for discussion, and to select for submission only those which will improve the conditions of service and those which will tend towards the betterment of the service you give the public. lam sure that, when the time comes to place those remits before Government and its representatives, you will get a patient hearing and a maximum of consideration.

EXCELLENT SERVICE RENDERED,

"It would not be right if I did not refer to the excellent service given to the Government and to the public by the Post and Telegraph Department in New Zealand. . Those who have travelled the world over frequently refer to the service given here, and many have no hesitation in asserting that the service is unsurpassed in any other country. We have every reason to accept that judgment and to be proud of it. "Shortly after I was appointed Post-master-General, I had the opportunity of visiting the different branches of the Department in Wellington, and I must confess that the far-reaching activities of the Department came to me somewhat as a surprise. That the Department should undertake so many functions of Government is surprising, but that it should do so with so much success is more surprising still. It can be only with the hearty goodwill of the staff that this Department is able to do so much successfully; and although on occasion some officers fail to do their duty, it is quite obvious that the great majority are as keenly interested in their work as if it were their own business. As you are aware, it is not part of my duties to arrange the personnel of the Department, but I do see the results and am informed by the Secretary of the Department that the staff does excellent ■ work and meets emergencies with a cheerful spirit.

MULTIFARIOUS DUTIES. "Although ono might well say that the Department has already a multitude of responsibilities which necessitates careful work by the executive and by the staff, recent developments—such as the installation of the cable across the Straits, the development of automatic exchanges, the installation of the multiplex telegraphing system, and the control of wireless with its many broadcasting difficulties—have added further responsibilities which, nevertheless, have been fully met. I have no doubt that, as time goes on, still further duties will fall on the Post and Telegraph Department, and that those additional duties will be carried out quite as well as the present-day ones. I have heard it said that too much has been placed on the Post and Telegraph Department; but the answer to that is that all that has so far been placed on it has been well done, and I have no reason to think that the Department will fail to do well anything required of it in the future. Prom the strictly staff point of view the additional duties necessitate additional controlling positions, and that is a point which, I am informed, is very acceptable in the Post and Telegraph Department, which necessarily has a very big rank and file all looking forward to the time when they can be given the opportunity of showing their ability in a higher position.

"In conclusion, I desire to thank the proposer for hia kind references to my Department and to assure you all that I am deeply interested in your welfare and in the service's progress. Any

body of officers which gives such service to Government is due all the consideration that a Government can I. give." A GROWING DEPARTMENT. | Mr. M'Namara, repling for the Department, said that in view of the f orthj coming conference ho would make no t policy statements. They formed a rapidly growing department not so much in Post and Telegraph affairs as by reason of the inclusion of activities which had been dealt with by other Departments previously, and it was the duty of the officers of the Government to see that the Department was prepared for these and still further duties, which would be placed on it. It would be altogether too optimistic to Buggest that no further duties would be given to the Department, because it had carried out everything entrusted to it so well hitherto that it would naturally be thought that any new du.i.j could be done more economically by Jw P. and T. Department than by anybody else, because of its numerous branches. MORE INTENSIVE TRAINING. Officers would need more careful training than in the past to carry out these new duties. Training schools had done excellent work for a number of years, but the training had been along lines that would not fall in with the increased duties of the Department. The technical training of the past had been sound, but the Department was fast becoming a commerical one, and training along commercial lines was becoming essential. It was pleasing to ' hear that there would be a large surplus, but there would be great demands upon it, and whon the balancesheet came out still further economy in expenses would be found necessary. Reverting to training, he said it was fast becoming the day of the specialist. Men, young in years, not more than 21, had skipped ahead of men of 35, and further specialised training, not only in the daily work, but in commercial practice, would have to be undertaken to meet the demands. NO "GOVERNMENT STROKE." "Government stroke" was happily absent from the P. and T. Department; on the contrary its men put their heart and soul into their day's work until the job was done. It was rare to find that a man had not finished the job put in front of him. When "Government stroke" was mentioned to P. and T. men they could well afford to smile, knowing it could not apply to them. The officers of the service were renowned for the attention they gave the public, and if there were any question of lack of courtesy, it was often on the other side of the counter, because the public did not understand that things could only be done in a certain way. It was pleasing to him to hear that the Department still stood at the head of the Government service for efficiency and service to the public. He know there were troubles, but he would always be pleased to meet them and discuss these or other matters, and he had the help of the Postmaster-General, who was always willing to assist the Department in any way in his power. SIFTING- GRIEVANCES. Proposing "Tho Association and the Delegates," Mr. H. E. Combs spoke of the need for recruiting in all ranks of tho P. and T. Service. He urged the elimination of all ideas beyond the principles of the association, just as they •put out of their heads all tho things that were contrary to their duty in respect of loyalty to their employers and the public. Grievances should first bo internally substantiated, and no imaginary grievances should be allowed to get past the conference. The organisation was one of the finest in >few Zealand, and it was their duty to see that its reputation stood as high !as did that of the Department they served: Messrs. J. T. C'arr, J. H. M'Kenzie, •md K. H. Brown responded. Other toasts honoured were: "Parliament," proposed by Mr. R. R. Reynolds and responded to by Messrs. Fraser, Ransom, and Forsyth; and "The Ladies," proposed by Mr. G. B. Brown and responded to by Mr. E. A. Lamb. Vocal and other items of entertainment were contributed by Misses Courtney, Wood, and Andrews, and Messrs. Daniels, Reynolds, Sutherland, and Andrews. Dancing was carried on until midnight.