CITY TRAMWAYMEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 152, 30 June 1938, Page 11

CITY TRAMWAYMEN

CLAIM FOR AWARD

ARBITRATION COURT

HEARING

HIGHER WAGES

SOUGHT

The hearing of an application for a new agreement between the Wellington City Council and the Wellington City Tramways and Power House Employees' and Municipal Omnibus Drivers' Union was commenced today before the Second Court of Arbitration. Mr. Justice Hunter presided, and with him were Messrs. A. W. Croskery (workers' representative) and V. Duff (employers' representative).

Mr. W. N, Broadley, and with him Mr. D. J. King, appeared for the applicant union. Mr. L. B. Hutton appeared for the Wellington City Council, and with him Mr. Norton Taylor. , £

The statement delivered by Mr. I Broadley' occupied 50 typewritten pages, with a lengthy supplement. The union is calling twelve witnesses, and their evidence will take considerably over a day. Mr. Broadley asked if it was possible for the Court to sit at night, but perfnission . for this was not granted at the conclusion of this morning's session.

f In presenting his case Mr. Broadley • said that it was most unusual for dis- ® putes of this class to come before the Arbitration Court, as agreements were '• usually reached in conference. As a rule, the relationship between local 5 bodies and employees was most amic- > able, and the last time the union came " before the: Court on an agreement Was ' in 1922.. Until 1935 no great difficulty 5 had been experienced in making agree- ' ments, although the - employees had 1 beefn unable to ipaintain the natural : pay increasesgranted to other workers. ! AT A DISADVANTAGE. j The local body employee was em- • ployed by an elected body of men responsible for the successful operation of the undertakings under their con- ■ trol. Thus at times the local body 1 Was more interested in the balance- : sheet than ;in the interests of its 'pm- ' ployees. After great difficulty, the • union had obtained a reduction of . hours from .48 to 40. p'er week. No great difficulty was experienced by ■ other branches of the council's employees regarding this and the.Sunday ; rate of pay, but probably the secret : lay in the fact that the costs -of the ; other services were paid out of ;iates. At the same time; the attitude of the I council seemed to the. union*, to be . peculiar. The same . position was strongly in. evidence in the matter of new agreements. In the case of the municipal labourers, a settlement was arrived at without much difficulty in Conciliation Council, with very beneficial results to the workers concerned. The municipal horse and motor-vehicle drivers' dispute was settled satisfactorily in conference. In respect of the tramwaymen, however, agreements were becoming increasingly difficult to Teach, and the employers', assessors seemed determined to keep the wages of the men down.. As the members of the union were ratepayers; they were placed, in a cleft stick. The management suggested that the tramwaymeh should work at a low rate and allow the undertaking to. pay iits Way. This would be a good way opt,if the: tramr waymen' did not have, to pay their quota towards the increased cost of living. Their wages were still at the 1920 level. "The union' asked for similar treatment to that given other unions.' , SPECIALLY SELECTED. The men were especially picked for 1 the job, and we're tested, in rpgard to ' intelligence, sight, hearing, and other . qualifications. If the applicant, was a i "perfect specimen," he was taken on i and received the magnificent sum of j 2s 2d an hour (in the case of a con- . ductor) for the-first year of service. . The same conditions applied all through the service. No labourer, shoji assistant, tradesman, or office clerk had to pass such tests, and none worked such awkward hours, but all received a higher wage rate. All the» clauses not agreed to related to payment of wages and additional payments for conditions arising out of employment in the various'branches, of the undertaking. 1 He outlined the disputed clauses, and 3 then reviewed the wages schedules for j the. years 1920 to 1935. These showed, he 1 said, ' that tramwaymen's wages werei well below those paid in the J majority of other industries of a like j nature. The only reason for this was *

that the hourly rate had been kept low because the average tramwayman did a certain percentage -of overtime. It was a bad "state of affairs that "men in these supposedly enlightened days had to work more than the Ordinary number of hours to earn a reasonably, decent wage. ONEROUS DUTIES. Mr. Broadley outlined the case .of a' conductor in his fifth year, emphasis' ing the short meal hours, irregular shifts, the rule that he must make up shortages in cash from his own wages, the numerous other duties, and the wage of £4 10s a week. When a passenger evaded payment of a fare, the onus was on the conductor. After a year's service he might sit for his "ticket" as a motorman, making it necessary for him to study the various appliances. The first-year conductor received £4 6s 8d a week, or 2s 2d an hour, and the second- to fifth-year conductor £4 8s 6d a week, or 2s 2J<d an hour. After passing a theory examination and a practical test under a Government inspector (for which he had'to pay £1), he was classed as a motorman. In passing tests he had to put m 80 hours' training, 40' of which was done in His' own time. He was then classed as a junior motorman at the rate of 2s 3d an hour. In this class he was expected to take the job of conductor or motorman, even though it meant taking a car through peak-hour traffic. After twelve-months, the full motorman's rate of 2s 5d an hour, or £4 16s 8d a week, could be paid, but some junior motormen had been kept for years waiting for elevation to full status.

Those .who were at last motormen embarked on years of continuous nightmare. In 1920, when motor traffic was light and time-tables slacker, there was some pleasure in the job at £4 14s a week. Today 'the motorman always had to be on the qui vive, owing to narrow, crowded streets and all kinds of motor, horse, and passenger traffic. Many other- difficulties, which Mr. Broadley outlined, caused the men to become subject to most of the nervous disorders. An accident of any kind rendered a motorman liable to be disrated, stood down, or,else dismissed. The 20-minute meal interval, with its accompanying haste, caused all sorts of stomach and nervous disorders. The spread of hours and consequent irregularity of meals was another.cause for complaint. Broken shift men could be worked six hours without a meal, and straight shift men five hours.

He compared the rates of pay of the