A HUGE TOTAL

Evening Star, Issue 19143, 9 January 1926, Page 3

A HUGE TOTAL

STATE AIIO LOCAL BODY SERVANTS WAGES Bill OF EIGHTEEN KILLIOHS Few people are aware that in Now Zealand the number of persons in the employ of the State and local bodies roaches to the huge total of <9,000, the annual wages bill amounting to £18,000,000 (says the Wellington ‘ Post . This is the figure arrived at by the Census and Statistics Office and published in the 1926 \oar llook. In 191.0 tho aggregate number of State and local body employees was set down at approximately 60,00(1, with an aggregate annual remuneration nl about, £8,00(1,000.

Permanent officers of (lie Railway Department' at March .'ll, 1920, numbered 13.788, the total salaries and wages paid during tho preceding twelve months being £6.359.504. Wages paid to temporary and casual employees during the yeitr accounted for a further £1.025,600. Temporary employees at March .‘II, .1925, numbered 4,158, fhe average employed during the year being 0,970. The total employees of tho department at March .'ll last wore finis 17.216, and the, wages hill for the twelve months was £4,685,104.

At March til lasi the employees of the Post and Telegraph .Department numbered 10,384. of whom 7,835 were permanent officers and 2,549 casual or temporary employees. Salaries and wages paid (o permanent officers during the preceding twelve months aggrogated £1.767,2;>0, while a total of £384,287 was paid to temporary and casual employees, the average of whom over the year was 1,807. Altogether £2.151,010 was paid hy the department in salaries and wages during the year, without, taking into account the remuneration of non-permanent country postmasters and postmistresses, mail contractors, etc. DEPARTMENT A L DETA! ES. Classified officers of Government departments under the control of the Public Service Commissioner numbered 7,385 at March 31, 1025, as coinparod with 5,869 at the corresponding period of .1915. The aggregate annual salaries were £1.133.835 Tor 1915-16, and £2,064.119 for 1925-26. The numbers on the staffs of the various departments as at March 31 last are ns follow, the annual salaries also being shown Agriculture, 497 officers, salaries £166,141; Audit. 120, £38,970; Census and Statistics. 57, £13.(>75: Grown Daw, 7. £4,670; Customs. 295. £89,325; Defence, 50, £12.130; Dominion Laboratory, 17, £6,705; Dominion Museum, 7; £2,855; Education. 277, £95,952; Native school teachers (year 1924-25), 262. __£53.820; External" Affairs, 5, £1.335; Government Eile Insurance, 127, £36,022; Health. 357, £100,872; Immigration, 12, £3,270; Industries and Commerce, 14, £1,875; Internal Affairs, 268. £05,818; Justice. 230. £63,960; Labor. 94, £20,895; Land and Deeds, 136, £35,772; Land and Income 'Pax, 156, £.'!5,08l); Earn! lor Settlements. 2, £1.192; Lands and Survey, 624. £174.490; Marine and Machinery, 202, £65,495; Mental Hospitals, '782, £17(E441 ; Mines. 62, £21,876; National Provident Lund and Friendly Societies, 41. £9.550; Native, 3, £18,570; Native Trust, 20, £5,685; Patents. 10, £2,760; Pensions, 97, £22,9-10; Police (not including Police Force'), 6. £1,775; Printing and Stationery. 317. £91,632; Prisons, 208. £57.171; Private Se.crotaries, 9, £4.325; Public Service Commissioner. 12. ,£1,62(1; Public Service Superannuation, 9, £2,660; Public Trust, 547, £151,199; Public Works, 667. £206.271 : Registrar-Gene-ral. 40, £10.245: Stamp Duties, 81, £19,900; State Advances, 75, £19,105; State Eire and Accident Insurance. 119. £29.685; State Forests. 91. £29.332: Tourist, and Health Resorts, 108. £26.648; Treasury, 85. £21.610; Valuation, 85. £30.210; totals, officers, 7.385, £2,064.119.

Most, of the departments shown in the foregoing list employ temporary' a nr! other unclassified officers. sonic of whom arc under the direct jurisdiction of the Public Service Commissioner. In certain departments, however, casual and temporary employees on other than clerical work are outside of the control of the Commissioner. It is assumed that there are over 700 temporary officers under the control of the Commissioner, and that their total wages amount to approximately mL'o.OOO/ . , The (lovornment Printer has, in addition to his permanent staff, a largo staff of what may bo termed permanent casuals. At March 31, 192-5, sixteen casual and temporary employees were on the paysheets of the Printing and Stationery .Departments, The average number employed daring the preceding twelve months was ]SI. and the wages paid to-temporary and casual

employees during the vear amounted to £61.330. Tho Public Works Department employs a largo number of temporary hands, who aro engaged cither on daily wages or under tho cooperative system. The number tor the, year ended March 31 last was as follows:—• Co-operative employees 1,821, other unclassified employees 4,762. In addition to its classified officers, the Department of Health has a considerable number of unclassified employees engaged in the various sanatoria, maternity homos, and other institutions conducted by the department. The number of such officers was 450 at March 61 last, the average for the year was 432, and the total salaries and wages paid amounted to £77,774 for the twelve months ended March .‘ll, ITU ADS OF DEPARTMENTS.

The number of officers in tho Administrative Division at March 6.1 last was .'l2. with aggregate salaries amounting to £62,264. Wilh these may he grouped eertain stantory and nnatiaehed officers, such as (ho Soli-citor-General, the Coni roller and Auditor-General, and the Public Service Commissioner, bringing the total to 40, and the aggregate salaries to approximately £42,01)0 per annum. •fudges of the Supreme Court number 9, judges of (he Native Land Court 8, and stipendiary magistrates 61. 'l'ho-se, with the, judge and members of the Arbitration Court, receive an aggregate of £-12.079 per annum. 'The permanent employees under tho jurisdiction of the Clerk of Parliaments and tin 1 Clerk of the House of Represe.utalivcs at .March 61 last numbered 09, and tho annual salaries amounted to £36,421. A number ol casual employees arc engaged during session time, amounting id Ml dftring the session of 1924, their wages totalling £14,763. Three important classes of public servants who are not under the control of (lie Commissioner are: (1) The, Navy: (2) the Permanent Defence Force; and (6) the Police Force. The total personnel of the New Zealand Division of tho Royal Navy last March was 640. and their aggregate rates of pay amounted to 1M21,20.1 pci 1 aiimim. Tin? Permanent Defence Force at the same date had 483 officers and men. with pay totalling £17)8.460 per annum. In addition, forty casual employees wore attached to the Defence Department, and a total of £5,653 was paid to casuals (average forty-throe) during the preceding twelve months. The Police Force numbered 1,025 of all ranks, £6D9,15,1 being the amount represented by the aggregate of their annual ral.es of pay. Temporary employees, who numbered fifty-six at March 31, 1925, and averaged fifty-three for tho twelve months, received wages totalling £10,268 during the year. Other officers who have not been inrinded in the totals given above are the High Commissioner and his staff; tho Resident Commissioners in the Cook Islands and Nine, with their staffs; officers in the employ of the Ba,moan Administration; canvassers ol the State insurance offices ; and the, officers (other than masters) and crews of Government steamers. No account is taken of parttime officers of Stain Departments who aro allowed in perform work for remuneration outside the Government. Crown solicitors, registrars of births, etc., and non-permanent postmasters and fc'o.st-iniidmsscs conn; into this category. Teachers and others engaged in the education service ol the State receive their salaries from the Consolidated Fund, but in general rank,2s employees of the various education hoards, university colleges, etc. The total nuniber of employees under this head, including full time teachers, professors, lecturers, pupil teachers, probationers, training rollcge. students, cloneal and other employees of local educational bodies at December 31, 1924, wa„s 9,845, and their annual salaries,aggregated £2,371.000. The number of temporary employees of educational bodies is small. LOCAL BODY EMPLOYEES. For the year 1.926-24, the latest for which figures are avadablc, permanentemployees ol local bodies numbered 12 684. their salaries and wages aggregating £3.0)5.097. There were SJso 7,973 = ’ temporary employees, receiving £1 324,902. Hospital boards at March 31,’ 1925, had 6,898 employees, with an a abrogate annua i remuneration ot £452 222. thus bringing the totals of all War bodies to 24.555 and £4,792 221 respective!v. Of tho employees of hospital hoards 153 were officers whose full time was not devoted to Hie services of the hoard. Similarly, the 12,684 permanent employees of other local bodies include GSO part-time officers. Summonsed, tho position is in tit the number of persons permanently cmployt'd bv the State and local bodies is 55 939, receiving salaries amounting to £13,726,885, tho number of temporary employees being 23,134, in receipt of £4,276,174 in wages.