RAILWAYS TRIBUNAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 October 1944, Page 6

RAILWAYS TRIBUNAL

A.S.R.S. CLAIM REFUSED

WELLINGTON, October 27. The request of Mr Mcllvride, advocate for the A.S.R.S., at the Tribunal, Lor an early decision on the Society’s wages claim was the subject of ft statement at to-day’s sitting by the Chairman (Mr Stilwell, S.M.). He said: “In all, the claims for principal orders and recommendations from the four separate railway organisations total 73 and involve in the aggregate a very large sum of money. Out of twenty claims lodged by the A.S.R.S. eight are yet to be heard. One organisation, however has not yet had the opportunity of presenting any of its claims, and until certain legal issues have been decided and claims of all organisations heard, the Tribunal will not in general be in a position to give any final decision respecting any claim. For this reason the present application cannot be acceded to.” Mr Mcllvride said that in view of Ihe .length of time that had elapsed since the railwaymen were promised a tribunal in December, 1943, he must ask that whatever decisions were reached they be made retrospective to the date on which the wages claim was lodged, namely, June 30, 1944. That was the most that could be asked for in the matter of retrospective payment because of the provisions of the Railways Amendment Act, 1944. Mr Stilwelll said the Tribunal would bear the request in mind when ■ aling with the matters it was its duty to consider.

RAILWAYWOMEN'S WAGES

WELLINGTON, October 26.

Regarding a claim for equal pay for equal work to women, Mr K. G. Reid, for the Department at the Railways Tribunal to-day, said thatjiundamental sociological issues wefl involved, resulting in 'a lower basic rate for women' than for men, who were assumed to have family responsibilities. War conditions had altered the position. Now women were doing a man’s work. That work they would not ordinarily perform. But it could not be said of the great majority of women employed by the Department that they generally performed all duties usually carried out by male employees whom they had replaced. In peace-time the employment of women was limited, and the scale of pay followed usual industrial customs. The question of equal pay did not then arise, because women were employed on work exclusively performed by women.