PARLIAMENT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 30 August 1924, Page 8

PARLIAMENT.

LEG ISL ATI V E COUNCIL. (RV TKI.EGI'AViI PBKSS association.') WELLINGTON, Aug. 29. The Legislative Council met at 2.30 p.m. to-day. The Imprest Supply Bill (No. 3) was introduced and put through all stages and passed. Copyright Amendment Bill, Extradition Amendment Bill, and Masseurs "Registration Amendment were read, a second time and referred to the Statutes Revision Committee. The Local Authorities Superannuation Bill was read a second time. The Council adjourned at 2.45 p.m. until 2.30 next Wednesday.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THE ESTIMATES

The House met at 2.30. Within a few minutes of meeting formal business was concluded. Mr Massey then moved that the House go into Committee of Supply to further consider the Estimates. The first vote taken was Post and Telegraph Department, £2,376,618. Mr Wilford immediately moved to reduce the first item by £1 as an indication that all salaries of £320 and under be increased to the 1914 standard. He did not propose to go into the old arguments re the cost of living, what a man could live on, and what he could not live on. He understood the most recent classification of the service was now available, with the result that very great dissatisfaction prevailed. To test the feeling of the House he moved to reduce the first item for the reason indicated above. Mr Lee asked the Minister to -say what he meant when he branded a section of the employees of his department as “disloyalists.” Was a man disloyal just because he desired to be loyal to his wife and children by bettering his wages and working conditions ? Mr Parry said whatever the Minister intended he had cast a serious aspersion on the whole of the Post and Telegraph service, because the offensive paragraph in the report could not be localised to any particular section of the service. Everyone expected something better from the Minister, who was a young man and who should be rid of the old Tory ideas. He (Mr Parry) was wondering whether this was not an attempt to create public opinion, and so prepare the way to the victimisation of certain men in the service. If the P.M.G. knew that certain men were doing something detrimental to the service the proper thing to do was to dispense with their services, and that at once. That was the manly thing to do. Further, it bad been freely stated that the P.M.G. had issued an order that temporary men in the employ of the department must not belong to the P. and T. Association. There were 2000 of such men, and as the association was the only medium through which the men could approach the Minister it meant that these men had no means of ventilating their grievances. The Minister said he had put a paragraph in his report to which exception had been taken because he thought it ought to be put there. He thus had the satisfaction of expressing his opinion. The wisdom of that opinion he would not discuss. It was true he had refused to allow temporary employees to p'in the P. and T. Association, and on that subject his attitude was definite, for this reason. The position of temporary men was unite different from that, of the permanent staff. If temporary nr;-'ri desire to form a union or amalgamate m any way there would be no objection to tint, hut they should not be allowed to dominate men whose cirf iimstanrcs, hopes and aspirations woie quite different. What he meant by ‘•disloyalists’’ were men who were mat loyal t > the department. It wa* not a m*.oslion of politics at all. He did not know what the politics-of the men were, but when be found them actively proinoting amalgamation with the Alliance c! Labour he considered they were net acting in the best interests of the department. That was Ins op in mu. Ho had placed that view baiorc Cabinet and Cabinet had agreed wit!) him that it would bo unwise to permit the P. and T. Association to ledorate with any outside organisation. As a. result of the regrading increases, the 11,I 1 , and T. salaries would this year he increased hv £IIO,OOO. This was an additional expenditure to that of last year.

ihc Hon. Hnnan asked th© Minister what it was which weighed in snaking promotions with the department, was it seniority or was it merit ? lie thought the time had come when the method of classification should he explained, so far as it affected all departments in the Government service.

Mr Rolk'ston (Tim a ml said he did not agree with Mr Wiliord’s amendment, because it meant that while a man with a salary of £320 might get a rise a man with a salary of £321 would not get a rise. That was an objection common to all such limitation, and he favoured an increase all round As long as the civil service was in a state oi unrest there would be inefficiency, hut at the same time lie desired to see this matter removed from' tii6 door oi fclio JrlcusOj <i:s members were constantly being embarrassed by it. It they voted against such amendments as that moved bv the Leader of the Opposition they were accused ot having no sympathy with the Public Seivice, and if they voted for it thev were accused of touting, for votes. Mr lsitt congratulated the Post-master-General on having the pluck and »a ok bone to express his opinions on the subject of loyalty and‘to see that his first duty is to protect the interests of the body politic. Mr Atmore commended the P M G for refusing to- allow the P. and T.'to affiliate with .the Alliance of Labour, winch ckd not wish to proceed along constitutional lines, and was revolutionniv in spirit. There was a. time when members of the P. and T. Association came to the House to interview members they saw members of all parties.' -Now they only saw the party connected with the Alliance of Labour. Mr Armstrong said it mattered n-K U ict^ir ’ r the Minister obiccted t--affiliation with the Alliance of Labour or not. because if any branch of the service had sympathev with the Admnce they would act in conjunction with the Alliance when the proper time came. Jf the Government wished to promote a ,revo-mt-'uurv spirit amongst members of the I . and T. service they were going the ngnt way about doing it. If men failed by other means to get sufficient pay for themselves and families thev were entitled to join up with the AHi'ance of Labour. They were entitled to do so. u they thought that would help them, the Government’s action was a challenge to the workers’ right to combine for which right their forefathers had fought. The Prime Minister and the Postmaster-General were the best organisers the workers of New Zealand had. The Hon. Nosworthv said if this constant talk about ‘Public Service grievances went on in the House it might he advisable to give them a couple of members of their own, who

could talk while the others went out. As a matter of fact, the Public Service were well paid autt well cared lor, and if they did not like their jobs they always had the option of getting out. 'lbe debate was proceeding when the House adjourned at 5.30. AY hen the House resumed a,t 7.30, the debate on the P. and T. Estimates was continued by Hon. Parr, who pointed out that to 'restore the ‘‘cuts” as advocated by Mr Wilford would involve an expenditure of £146,000. By ie-grading the P. and T. salaries were being increased by £IIO,OOO. That meant that practically the “cuts” were being restored this year. Did Mr "Willoid mean that tli e 'P. and T. servants were to receive £146,000 in addition to the £IIO.OOO which re-grading would give them:- Were members of the P. and T. and other sections of the Civil Service to the made a privileged class, and bear nothing of the burden of the ,vari J There were many small farmers and clerks in towns who would be glad to get back to something like pre-war conditions. Air Massey said the Reform Party, in making the “cut,” had taken its political life in its hands in the interests of the country. Would the Liberal Party have done that?' He protested against the methods of the Opposition in connection with these estimates by needlessly wasting time. The Postmaster-Geieral said representatives of the P. and T.. Department had discussed with him minimum rates of pay tor casual mein Anomalies existed, and it was his desire to see that those were evened upward. The U. and T. minimum rate was the lowest sc. iar as casual labour was con ernod; and lie wanted to see it raised. Hon Coates, replying to Air Sidey, ;aul all message boys inthe cities, cxept Dunedin, were off at 9.30 p.m. At 11 15 a division was taken on Air V uiord’s amendment, which had been lost sight of for several hours. The esult was that the amendment was ost by 30 to 28. Air Fraser then moved that the total vote be reduced by £lO as an indication that the House disapproves of the paragraph in the Department report describing certain employees as “dis’oyalists.” There was no debate on Lis amendment, which was lost by 38 to 21.

At 11.55 the vote was passed. Public buildings, domains, and maintenance of roads (£166,938) wa s passed, 'Li« e mn a ' so Jh® Police Department 441 ?70n? )^ d Printin S an d stationary (£203,606). Progress was then reported, and the -rouse .r ise at 12.25 till 2.30 on Tuesday.