THE TRAMWAYS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17936, 1 November 1918, Page 5

THE TRAMWAYS.

f SITUATION UNCHANGED

YESTERDAY.

Inquiries, addressed to the general manager of the Tramways and the ieoretary of tho Tramway Employees' Union yesterday elicited that no developments had taken place in the dispute beyond the dismissal of two moro employees. The running of tramway traffic was on the same lines as the previous day, a-curtailed service being maintained with little or no evidence pf friction or Unduly slow running. .

TWO MORE MEN DISMISSED.

FAILURE TO COLLECT FARES ALLEGED..

V Yesterday two conductors were , discharged from the tramway service. Action was taken on tho ground that the mon had either deliberately declined to collect faros, or had refrained from collecting them. The conductors were engaged en the Sumner line, and it is stated that in ono casa forty-two sixpenny faros were not collected, while in the other sixteen fares were missed. Complaint in each cas* was made by passengers. \ It is stated that other cases of a similar nature are being reported, and action will be taken when the facts aro ascertained.

THE DISMISSED EMPLOYEES.

LEGALITY OP BOARD'S ACTION QUESTIONED.

LABOUR DEPARTMENT INVEST! GATING.

Mr EL Hunter, secretary of the Tramway Employees' Union, in an interview yesterday, emphasised that the two outstanding points in the dispute at its present stage were the union's demands; for a minimum wage of £3 4s a week and for tho reinstatement of the men dismissed. ;

In regard to the matter of wages the , board,had made no attempt worth consideration to show that the claim was , unjustified. V In the matter* of the dismissed emthe union believed that it had the law on its side. These men were dismissed without notice, and were given one week's wages in lieu of such notice- ,' They were not given any opportunity to defend themselves. The law on the subject was comprised In the following' extracts from the Christchurch .Tramway Employees' ; 'Award:—'- ■'

DETERMINATION OF ENGAGEMENT.

7. Subject and without prejudice to the preceding provisions, not less than one-week's notice of termination of engagement shall be given by the board or its-employees, but this shall not prevent the board from dismissing any employee for good and substantial cause without notice, subject in all cases to jin appeal by the employee. , Reports.

12. (a.) Any report against an employee,; whether from, an officer of the board or a member of the general pubJio'i \ shall not be considered by the board unlew it is made in writing, nor shall-it be considered if delivered to the board later than seven days after ilie committal of the alleged offence. (b.) The employee concerned shall be Notified of the nature of the report witton .forty-eight hours of its receipt (Sundays and Holidays excepted), and shall be allowed to make a copy there-

■ jof..;' (c.) If pending inquiry an employee •^asT&ecn 1 suspended, and if in the opinion of been •sustained, the employee shall be paid for the time lost at ordinary weekday rates of pay. (d.) No employee shall be penalised or disrated without first being notified by-the board ortits official of such pl,o- -;.' posed 'action and given time to appeal, and such punishment shall be held over •until such appeal is finally disposed It was contended by the union that ©very, section of these two. clauses had been- infringed by the board, and the local office of the Labour DepartmenTi bad beeri asked to investigate the matter,'.and had agreed to do so. MR BAGGER'S MEDIATION. ' Mr Hunter was asked whether, in view of the strained relations between *h© board and union, it would not be wise to ask Mr Hagger, whose services liave been made available by tho Government, to act as intermediary between the parties in all future negotiations.

Mr Hunter, replied that the union tieartily agreed that suoh a course •would be wise, and, in fact, since Saturday last, when the board announced that it. had suspended negotiations with the union, this course had been followed,,and Mr Hagger had acted as intermediary. The board, however, apparently did not choose to recognise Mr-THagger-in the matter. After certain proposals had been made to the board by Mr Hagger on behalf of the union, the.chairman of the board, xhe Hon J. Barr, made a newspaper enliduncement to the effect that the board had had no definite proposal from Mr Hagger. The proposals conveyed in the union's letter of yesterday were Agreed,to at, a conference between Mr Bagger and the union representatives last Saturday, and were conveyed by Mr Hagger to the board forthwith. It became necessary for the union to write formally when it became obvious that the board was not croing to accord recognition to Mr Hagger.

■'■ '. to.; ran idito». l r ■'•. Sir,—Quito a number of correspondents have written letters in reterence to the above, an of which are, no doubt, written with the best of intentions. tJorae of them are very much appreciated, and 1 hereby tender the tnanks of the union, also my own, to all friends and sympathisers with the tramwaymen in their strenuous battle with the , 'lramway Board to get the latter's kind permission to be allowed the privilege of earning a livelihood, in this ago of exploitation, in forty-eight hours, even if the iorty-eight hours is . spread, over a seventy-two hour week. , The men aek for a minimum of Is 4d .per hour, >£3 4s per week. According to the'latest figures issued by the Government. Statistician, Mr Malcolm leaser, it takes 28s Id to purchase today what could be purchased in 1914 tor 20s. Each sovereign is worth lis : lid : to-day when applied to the pur- ■' chase of groceries, dairy produce and meat. These are the three food groups . dealt with in relation to the cost of Jiving. These figures show a 40 per ; cent increase on pre-war prices. Could the tramwaymen prevent this increased cost in'their food bill? To sbpw how modest their present, demand is compared with its purchasing power, I have quoted the Statistician's figures in reference to our own town, and ho shows that £3 4s, has a purchasing powerT to-day of £1 18s l|d when apph'ed' to the purchase of food. But tramwaymen and their wives and families require other things besides; and the Statistician is silent in reference to boots, drapery and the one hundred and one items required in a well-equipped household. These things, boots, clothing, etc., have advanced, more than 40 per cent. Boots have;doubled in price, and clothing also'.. Every honest man and woman recognises this and therefore supports .thp. Tramway Union in its claims for an Increase in wageß. They realise also that the tramwaymen are not asking •nJ6ugh;;; jThe, Hon John Barr states that ai eonductior's eight hours are only spread y-: -

over eleven: hours and forty-two minutes a day on'the average. Only I Good heavens! how many hours would the honourable gentleman like to spread them over if ho.had his way? Of in, the opinion of the honourabio gentleman, perhaps, a conductor's time is of no consideration whatever, seeing that he is only prepared to allow him Is ljd per hour, 8s lOd per day of eight hours, spread over eleven hours forty-two minutes. Tho honourable gentleman values his own time mere highly, however. I would like to know how many hours he put in in the Legislative Council to earn his £2OO honorarium. As chairman of the board he receives two guineas per sitting, and his eight colleagues each get a guinea. They arrange the meetings for four or five o'clock in the afternoon so that they can adjourn to tho cosy seats of the board room and listen to the report of the general manager, with pleasant anticipation .of the early arrival of the adjournment and tho satisfaction of guineas having been duly ''earned." is quite easy for gentleman in such cosy circumstances to agree with the general manager, or amongst themselves, in their pleasant and harmonious way, that their employees, who are really responsible for the smooth and efficient working of the whole service, are highwaymen when they ask for a minimum wage of one pound eighteen shillings and one penny throe-farthings' worth, of the necessaries of, life in return for forty-eight hours' work, which is only spread over seventy hours and twelve minutes, according to the honourable gentleman. It is up to'ihe public to take more interest in the Tramway Bonrd thnn they have done in the past. Everything is " done in committee " at the present time for the purpose of keeping the ratepayers in the dark in relation to matters of vital importance. The public should know the opinion of all members of the borrrd upon vital questions, and csnedallv in regard to the present trouble with the emploveee. Star Chamber methods are not becoming to a public corporation handling the people's money in the twentieth century. Wake up, Christchurch!—l am, etc.,* HIRAM HUNTER, Secretary Tramway Union.