P. AND T. EMPLOYEES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 18 November 1937, Page 9

P. AND T. EMPLOYEES

BIENNIAL CONFERENCE NO INFORMATION REGARDING RECLASSIFICATION c s . (By Telegraph — Press Association! | WELLINGTON, 17th November. The biennial conference of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Em* 1 ployees’ Association was officially open* 2 cd by the Minister of Mines (the Hon. ' P. C. Webb) at Wellington. Mr G. Me* Namara, Director-General of the Dc- “ jpartment, also attended. -1 The conference is presided over by i I Mr H. W. Parnell, Auckland, the pre--1 sident of the association, and there are 11 28 delegates from all parts of the Do- - J minion. Apologies were received for i | the unavoidable absence of the Prime > Minister (the Rt. lion. M. J. Savage) ijand the Postmaster-General (the Hon. iF. Jones). | Mr Webb said he was not in a posij lion to give the conference any inI formation regarding the reclassification l of the Public Service. The Govcrn- | ment had been giving this matter attention for some time. He understood a statement would be made shortly. He realised that the members of the post and telegraph service had not always had a square deal regarding salaries, notwithstanding that there was no Department in the Dominion better organised or more efficient. He had recently been given an opportunity of making a : comparison between the Australian and ! the New Zealand post and telegraph 1 j services, and he was satisfied that the New Zealand standard of service was i not excelled anywhere, i Mr Webb complimented the members j of the service on their loyal co-oper-ation with the Government in carrying out the duties associated with the Department, and also paid a high tribute to their business ability. Mr McNamara said he could not give the conference any information regarding the Government’s reclassification proposals. He was pleased that Mr Webb had said the Post and Telegraph Department was a most efficient State Department; this, he thought, was a confirmation of public opinion. The Minister had said the New Zealand service was better than the Australian I service, and he could say from perj sonal observations that it was not in- | ferior to similar services in other counI tries. Notwithstanding its general efficiency and the fact that it was a comI plicated service consisting of 15 departments, its officers were the poorest paid in the employ of the State. He had repeatedly protested to previous Governments in this connection, but had been unable to obtain satisfaction. He hoped that the Government I would now give authority to pay salaries in accordance with the value of j work performed. | The business handled by the Department was increasing rapidly. Last year J there was a 15 per cent, increase, and j this year there was an additional 14 ‘ per cent, increase. This abnormal inj crease was severely taxing the reI sources of the Department. As an indication of the increase in the volume of business handled, the Department’s revenue this year would probably amount to £4,000,000. This would be a record. The conference was continued to-day.