HANDED OVER CONTROLS

Evening Star, Issue 25083, 26 January 1944, Page 7

HANDED OVER CONTROLS

AMERICAN SERVICEMAN DRIVES TRAM DISMISSAL OF MOTORMAN DEEMED TOO HARSH (P.A.) AUCKLAND, January 25. The dismissal of a tramway motorman for allowing an American serviceman to take over the controls of his tramcar was the subject of an appeal heard at a sitting of the Auckland Man Power (Industrial) Committee to-day. The motorman, E. H. Saxon, appealed against the man power officer's approval of the Auckland Transport Board's application to terminate his services. Saxon had been employed by the board for nearly 17 years. It was admitted by the appellant that he had allowed a serviceman to take over the controls of his car on January 1. An inspector boarded the tram and told Saxon he would have to report him. It was submitted by the secretary of the Tramway Workers' Union (Mr E. A. Whit'.ow) that the serviceman was a friend of the motorman and that he was a qualified tramway motorman who had been employed by the Los Angeles Tramway Company, for four years. The trams there were fitted with the same equipment as at Auckland. The Transport Board's engineermanager, Mr A. E. Ford, said the offence was a very serious one, and the board's first concern was the safety of the public. Ho did not think that the derating of the motorman would meet the case. Saxon had a good record of service, but a practice such as this had to be stopped, as there were many servicemen aibout and their condition in the afternoons was not exactly satisfactory.

Taking into consideration his unblemished service of 17 years, and while realising that a certain amount .of discipline must be exercised in such matters, the committee considered that the penalty of dismissal was too severe. The chairman (Mr Liddell) said the committee had decided that Saxon should lose tliree of the days since his suspension from the service on January 4, and that the difference between what he had earned since in casual work and what he would have earned had he continued as a motorman would be made up by the board, and that he should be reinstated as a motorman.