WARTIME STAFFING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 10 December 1940, Page 5

WARTIME STAFFING

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT MANY MEN SERVING WITH FORCES REORGANISATION AND LONGER HOURS [United Press Association] WELLINGTON, This Day. “The Post Office, in common with the rest of the community, is feeling the effect of the war in many directions,” said the Postmaster-General, Mr Webb, in a statement yesterday on the wartime staffing of the department. “Not the least important is the temporary loss of officers serving with the Army, Navy and Air Forces. From a normal working staff of over 12,000 employees, the volunteers for overseas numbered over 1600, and of these 1051 have already been released. The remainder are either waiting to enter camp or have not been accepted for military service. Disregarding married men, employees under age and female employees, the voluntary enlistments represent 33 per cent of eligible officers. “The number of enlisted men who sought to be drafted to the field post offices was surprisingly few, most of them preferring to serve with the fighting units. A knowledge of morse telegraphy was instrumental in having a large number of telegraph men drafted to the Signalling Corps. The personnel of the Signalling Company, however, is not confined to telegraphists. There is ample scope for mechanicians and linemen, many of whom have been drafted to the unit. “In addition to enlistments for overseas service, more than 500 junior officers of the Post Office staff are now in territorial camps, and 200 more volunteers will enter camp in the New Year. In addition, 1100 were drawn in the first and second ballot and many of these will be required to commence training in January. LONG HOURS WORKED "The release of so many officers calls for reorganisation, and the position has been met so far with but slight restriction of services. As the outcome of staff overhauls, many officers have been released without being replaced, and increased hours of duty have been accepted by the remaining staff in a commendable spirit. Some economies in manpower have been effected by slight restriction in services and the co-opera-tion of citizens in this connection and in meeting the request for the erection of gate letter-boxes to assist the postmen has been most helpful in balancing the staffing budget. In addition, relief is being obtained from the employment of female labour on work that is suitable for females, and some 200 girls are now in training. Machine printing telegraphy, with its touchtyping operation, comes under this heading. The training of young girls in this work has borne such good results that 42 are now employed as full working units in telegraph offices. “There have naturally been heavy demands on the department’s staff of radio telegraphists, and the need for a reserve of trained radio operators quickly became apparent. This was met by the setting up of a school for training telegraph cadets as radio operators. In addition, recruits to the Royal New Zealand Air Force who are waiting to enter camp are being given training in morse telegraphy, many

telegraphists voluntarily giving of Iheir own time in providing instruction. At present there are 73 classes in 37 towns, and 2240 Air Force trainees are receiving instruction from 150 instructors. “To-day the Post Office is carrying on with 600 less of a staff than it had in September, 1939, and it is doing this notwithstanding the further calls made on it in administering the Oil Fuel Regulations, and despite the difficulties that are inseparable from working with partly inexperienced staffs. ORGANISING NATIONAL SAVINGS “The most recent large-scale job to be entrusted to the Post Office concerns the recently-launched National Savings Movement,” said Mr Webb. “This work, which is in the forefront as a war effort, will not only augment the fighting funds, but will contribute substantially to economic stability both now and after the war. The bulk of the organising work has been entrusted to the Post Office, and postal officers at all important centres have been appointed organisers for the setting-up of savings groups in business houses. The response of business firms and their employees from one end of the Dominion to the other has been most encouraging. “Not only is the Post Office organising the scheme among staffs in the business world, but its own officers are saving in a manner reminiscent of their response to the appeal for national patriotic donations. Officers of the Pent Office were among the first to make mass and regular contributions to the National and Provincial Patriotic Funds, the sum now being contributed by them to the patriotic funds amounting to between £SOOO and £6OOO annually.” __