Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1926. RAILWAY CRISIS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 October 1926, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1926. RAILWAY CRISIS.

I The reports coming from all parts I of the Dominion regarding dissatisfaction among railway ■ engineI drivers and firemen, with their Iwages and service conditions, may I be the' result of a prepared I “ drive, ” to influence the Railway Board and public opinion, but they cannot, therefore, be disregarded a§ of little account. With the busiest traffic season about to begin, the country cannot afford serious trouble on the railways, and every effort should be made fo secure an inmiediate peaceful settlement. So far most of the talk has come from the men’s representatives, the Ministerial reply' nbt going into details. The, for the E.if.C.A. is based on the fact that while high-salaried officials of the Department have received increases in salaries which restored the “cuts” made by the Rublie Expenditure Adjustment Act in 1922, the rank and file' have been unsuccessful in having their wages claims recognised, Compar-

ing salary increases, the secretary of the E.F.C.A. (Mr McArley) said that while in 1906 one officer in Class 1 received £1250, in 1926 three officers received £4250. In Class 2, three officers received £2550 in 1906, whereas to-day six officers got £6200. Five special grade officers, and 13 others received £9515 in 1906, but to-day eleven special, grade officers and twelve others were paid £18,715 between them. Tn other' words, while the total of these salaries in 1906 was £13,315, in 1926 it had risen to £29,165. The capital cOst of the Railways in 1906 was £22,500,000, but in 1926 it was £45,750,000. The E.F.C.A. claim to’have approached Mr Coates before his departure for London, urging him to meet their demands, otherwise trouble was certain. The Prime Minister, evidently, did not take the threat very seriously, and the next move is for the meeting of the Grand Council of fhe E.F.C.A. It must be admitted that the employees have been complaining for a long time, and whatever action they may take, cannot be regarded as premature. It is to be hoped that the Department is prepared for-all contingencies. Among the men’s grievances are the following:—The men now receive less than time and a quarter for peilal rates, while the Arbitration Court awards time and a half; besides the locomotive men do not get any penal rates until eight hours are exceeded, and forty-eight hours in the week, and they are supposed to have a forty-four-hour week. The request for a mileage rate has been put forward every time there has been a speeding up of trains. The drivers note that the management is anxious to pay the workshops men for work done, such as turning ten wheels in place of eight in eight hours, but they decline to meet the locomotive men for turning engine wheels quicker and getting a train to its destination one or two hours earlier. Another item causing discontent is in the allowance paid to men who are compelled to remain away from home at night. The sum of eight Shillings is paid to the men for bed, breakfast, dinner and tea. The men are held away from home for twelve hours and over, and they say that they are out of pocket in all eases. It is also stated that the annual leave has been reduced by two days, and that the placing of two and three men on an engine in a day’s run with no proper care and attention of the engine, similar to that given where a similar system operates, was causing much discontent. Failures of draw-gear between engine and tender had also caused the men much concern, the severe eyesight test had caused them to look upon their job as most uncertain, and it is not considered fair by them that it should take over twenty years to get the maximum rate for an engineer, and eight years to go from his minimum rate to his maximum, a world’s record in withholding the highest rate. Perhaps no class of railwaymen have the sympathy of the general public more than have the drivers of the engines, the onerous nature of their duties giving them a special claim to consideration. They must, however, be reasonable in any attitude they adopt, and not be too aggressive. Their own journal is inclined not only to be bellicose, but unpatriotic, condemning the building of cn-

gines in New Zealand workshops, and having little that is good to say for New Zealand coal. The attitude seems to be partly inspired by jealousy of the other sections of railway employees, whereas their case should stand or fall entirely on its own' merits or Meanwhile, any quarrel between the Railway Board and the E.F.C.A. should be enquired into by the Minister, who should take the public more into his confidence. A strike would be a costly affair, and it Can.be remembered in the E.F.C.A. favour, that in the previous stoppage, they took no active part.