RAILWAYMEN'S WEEK

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 64, 13 September 1945, Page 9

RAILWAYMEN'S WEEK

"MATTER OF ECONOMICS"

The economic practicability of operating a 40-hour week, made ■up of five eight-hour days, exclusive of Sundays, was argued before the Railways Industrial Tribunal yesterday on a claim to that effect presented by the four service organisations. A request was made for" double the ordinary rate to be paid for all time on duty on the rostered or usual day off. the payment for this day to stand by itself. It was agreed that the present stated policy of the Department was a 40----hour week, Monday to Saturday, and that where economically practicable the weekly hours of,work were confined to five days.

On behalf of the service organisations/ Mr. J. S. Berry reviewed the representations made along the lines of the claim since the introduction of the 40-hour week in New Zealand, and pointed out that the principle of a five-day week had been recognised by the Government and Department in the case of the railway workshops employees. The principle was generally accepted in industries outside the railway service on a Monday to Friday basis, while in industries comparable to the railway running section a five-day week was worked under conditions now requested by the service organisations. Replying to Mr. A. F. Taylor, the Department's assessor, Mr. Berry agreed that trains had to run seven days a week at all hours of the day and night, and that the most important concern of railwaymen was the safety of the travelling public. He thought, however, that the general object of the Department was not so much the running of services as the development of the country, together with the safe transport of people and goods, although one of its functions was the linking' up of the various transport systems throughout the Dominion. The whole railway service had to be efficient. He agreed that if anything went wrong, it had to be attended to as soon as possible, even if it meant recalling a man who had been rostered off duty.

Mr. Taylor: Would you not agree that a rigid five-day week-.throughout the railway seryice is impracticable?— We are not asking for that altogether. We say that if it is necessary to recall

a man on his rostered or usual day off he should be paid double time for the time he is so employed. We don't think that would be an unreasonable penalty. The tendency would be to try to leave the rostered man off.

"Excluding the workshops, do you know of any railway anywhere in the world that is on a five-day week?" asked Mr. E. Casey, the Government representative on the tribunal.

Mr. Berry: I don't know of any railway system outside New Zealand that is, but I do know of transport systems other than the railways in New Zealand that are 'on a five-day week. This matter of a five-day week generally in the Department has been frequently discussed with the General Manager and his officers?— Yes.

And the decision on every occasion has been that it is impracticable to give full effect to it?—ln some cases economically impracticable, in other cases, just impracticable. Mr. Casey commented that the request for a general five-day week had become more intensive during the past five years. '•Would you agree with the principle that the hours, and days of work should be suited to the industry rather than that the industry should be suited to the days of work?" he asked.

Mr. Berry: We don't wish to be unreasonable and try to bind the Department down to working a five-day week between Monday and Friday, except, really, for the men not on the running staff. It is the generally accepted principle outside of transport systems to work a five-day week, Monday to Friday. We agree that it is the general principle in outside transport systems for men on the running side to work Monday to Saturday, and we think that that is reasonable. . . . We say that the 40-hour week having been introduced in New Zealand, there is no reason why there should not be a fiveday week in the railway service. At present, even with the running staff, the Department tries to roster on a five-day week. We want a definite roster and a penalty for working a man on the sixth day.

To Mr. A. E. Whitlow, service organisations' representative on the tribunal, Mr. Berry said that at present some employees were paid overtime for work on the sixth day and some were not. "The principle of the five-day week could definitely be applied to the railway service," he added. "It is only a matter of economics."