THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3598, 2 April 1924, Page 4

THE ETERNAL TRIANGLE.

PAY, CONDITIONS AND HOCUS P. AND T. ON THE WARPATH At the Kosy hall last night there was an attendance of three ladies and forty-four men at the meeting called by the Manawatu branch of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association to hear Mr H. E. Combs, General Secretary, on matters relating to the classification of the service. Mr C. D. McEwan presided . After an interesting and instructive address, the following resolutions were carried unanimously:— “The Manawatu section of the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association x’esents the. tact that their general wage conditions' have been drawn into the Railway wage dispute, without first giving the Post and Telegraph men the right to ho heard, and to have fair representation on the Board which 13 dealing with the dispute.” •Mover:—Mr C. J O’Brien; seconder; Mr J. J. Coffey.

“The Manawatu section of <lio Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association congratulates the railway men on the stand they have taken to lift their basic wage men to a point which makes for a fair staudard of comfort, and pledges Itself to support them in attaining their objective.”

Mover: G. N. Crozier; seconder: Mr W B. Crump.

‘This meeting of the Mainiwatu section of the Post and Telegraph Officers’ Association, strongly supports the demands of the sections of the Service, for a separate wages hoard to adjust the • claims, for an improvement in, salaries and wages, which will restore to the Service, the standard of living which prevailed in t 914; and urges the Executive Council to take a definite stand to bring such a Board into being, pledging itself to give wholehearted support in any course of action the Executive finds necessary.” Mover. Mr G. N. Crozier; seconder; Mr Geo. Hudson. Mi- Combs’ Case. From a comprehensive review of the position by Mr Combs, the following are a few interesting facts and figures.— Basic wage, 1014. P. and T Officers, .... £135 N.Z.R. Officers £l4l P.S. Officers .......... £165 Increase in cost of living, 1920: —• All groups 63 per cent; food group, 62.44 per cent. Increase in cost of living, 1924: 58 per cent to 60 per cent. Basic wage, N.Z.R. casuals £3 19/10 per week. Basic wage, general labourers, £3 16/1 per week. Basic wage, P. and T. married and single, £3 13/4 per week. Average wages first-class carpenter £3BO. Average wages first-class telegraphist £295. P. and T. Officers don’t exist on food alone. ’Must have a house and other comports that go to make a complete home. If they were to sleep out in a paddock, they would bo run in for having no visible means. Low wages do not help business —on the contrary they absolutely crucify it. P. and T. officers are not going to have their position in life decided by a Board on which they have no representation, and accordingly no voice. No other organisation would stand being kept in the dark for six months about their livelihood. The A.S.R.S. case is our case—their fight is our fight. We want to let the A.S.R.S. know that the P and T. are with them to the last ditch. The P. and T. service stands high in public estimation and the department should be in a position to pay a satisfactory wage to every man, woman and child employed. There would not be a business house that would not feel the shock were the wages of a thousand residents of Palmerston North to be reduced 10/- pep week. Money that does not come in cannot go into the shopkeepers’ till. There are not wanting signs that rents will be increased rather than reduced. The spending power of the community is wages minus rent. “Wc are determined to have the full 1914 standard of comfort even at the price of 60 per cent increase on the basic wage of 1914," said Mr Combs in conclusion.