WELLINGTON TRAMWAYMEN

Evening Star, Issue 23092, 19 October 1938, Page 15

WELLINGTON TRAMWAYMEN

LOWEST PAY IN DOMINION DISSATISFIED WITH AWARD [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, Oct. 18. Dissatisfaction with the new award recently issued by the Second Court of Arbitration was expressed by two largely-attended meetings of Wellington Tramway employees this week. Wages and retrospective nay were the chief matters discussed. The court declined to make an order for retrospective pay. contending that the carrying out of any undertaking which may have been given must be left to the parties to arrange. In a dissenting opinion the workers’ representative on the court, Mr A. W. Croskery, stated that the Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) had intimated at a City Council meeting that he did not think there would be any objection to retrospective pay. Mr Croskery held that it should date from February 17. 1938. The secretary of the Wellington Tramway Employees’ Union (Mr W. N. Broadley) stated to-day that a conference between the union officials and the Tramways Committee of the City Council had been arranged for noon to-morrow, when the question of retrospective pay in addition to grievances with the award will be the major matters to be discussed. It is claimed that Wellington tramwaymen have not received any increases in wages since 1920. and that their present rates are the lowest for tramwaymen in New Zealand, and this despite the fact that the service is the only paying one in the Dominion at the moment. Rumours circulated throughout the city since the meetings were held, that the tramwaymen intended to commence a go-slow policy, were discounted by Mr Broadley. It was not intended in the meantime, he said, to cause any stoppage or interference with the present time table. The union had no intention so far of adopting other than normal procedure in the effort to reach an amicable settlement with the council over any grievances.