UP IN ARMS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1914, Page 6

UP IN ARMS

■■.. ... ♦ ~4— :. AGAINST THE COMMISSIONERS. DISPONTENTED~civiL SERVICE SUPREME COURTACTION PENB- ■ - ING.. ■ . There was a brief announcement in Friday morning's N.Z. Times to the ; effect that important litigation was ; pending between the Public Service Association (incorporated) and the. -Public Service Commissioner, to test vtn the Supreme Court.the validity or , .otherwise of the Commissioner* action in withholding from the service , certain rights which the association's, \ claims are conferred on 'the-service-by' the State. ... Further inquiries made on Friday ;by a Times representative confirm the I seriousness of the position. The Soli-citor-General recently ruled that the Appeal Board had no jurisdiction, ~. where grievances arising out of pro-1 potions made by the Public Service Commissioner were concerned. The decision has been tihe cause of a great deal of dissatisfaction amongst public servants generally, and'feeling is running high on the matter. On Friday several of the latter expressed themselves as highly displeased at the course events were taking under the new regime of commissioner control. They . .regard- tihe Solicitor-General's view as a most narrow one, and likely, if carried out, to cause the greatest discontent amongst public servants generally. .The Katipo, the official organ of the Ppst> <and Telegraph Officers' As- ! sociation, has an article in its March, issue (published on Friday), in which it strongly defends- the; position which 'civil servante are taking-up in the v an^l in which jtt is .shown, ibhat^ the whole- of the Civil Service is coin^ ' oinmg^topght.the -Commissioner-^ a-tf-y titude. "The Commissioner, we are creditably uiformed," says tihe Katipo, has already acted on the advice given mm, and one or two appeals have \ been returned to the appellants with | an intimation.that there is no ground. for the appeal. This may, of course, be^the letter of the Public Service Act, bir: ;■+, is far from being the I ! ?P UxV .7 " a l . wlepe'aU given to believe J .™ at rull reliance could be placed on ! the Appeal Board's power to hear and I adjust grievances as they arose, and looking at the clause in the Act which I gives_ the hoard its powers, we still | and it difficult to believe that it pos- '- sesses only half the authority which ? |we fondly hoped it possessed. The.! j wording of the clause appears to us to ■ j be perfectly plain and to leave very I I little doubt as to the extent of th*I board s powers, and despite the opinj ion of such a high authority as the j So lcitor-General to the contrary, we still believe the board has the power ! to deal with questions of promotion j or to narrow it down, to promotion of! another civil servant over one's head, j j lhe clause in the Act (31 1-) says:— [ ! . Any officer dissatisfied with ANY 1 decision of the Commissioner. . . '. ; j m regard to salary or promotion | may forward .... a notice of ap- | peal, etc., etc. ; I 1^ be clearer?" asks | the Katapo. "This is the portion of | the clause affected: by the ruling, and I thus stripped of all superfluous words I i* le?T€s no doubt in our minds as to I the intention, of Parliament." | PARLIAMENT'S POWERS. ; The Katipo concludes with an appeal to.let what Parliament meant to be the law be carried out: | 'Above all and before all, however, ?we should much prefer to see theI Lommissioner abandon the ruling, of ,j the bolicitor-General (as we have been i.able to. show, that- there is room to aoubt it his opinion, is sound in this .j-TOStanee, there should be no difficultypii doing so), and ;to adminis'tei- the ] Act in the spirit.in.which. .Parliament | passed it Splitting straws over small matters is apt to destroy confi- | dence, but to do so in such an all-iin-i g?^* matter.as justice between the btate (and the Commissioner represents the State) and its servants is capable of many constructions and as m other rratters, where more than one opinion is possible, an ugly one will rise to the top." POSTAL OFFICERS' ATTITUDE. | Tn sskin,. th* help of the post and tolPfirrnnh ohoers to fight the case for ' t'^.^'-vice, the journal pays:— 'lno executive committee of the

| Post and Telegraph Officers' Associa- ; j tion has, of course, taken up con- j j sideration of the position that this I | ruling has created, and has decided to ] | seek to/, co-operate with the Public ' t Service Association in having the rul- i j ing reversed; : We 'feel sure that] I members will endorse prompt action \ I xn the matter, and, as the reversal of j ( a legal ruling is often an expensive I- | item, that they will stand benmd the.{ j committee should financial assistance : j be necessary." f