RAILWAYS DISMISSALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20603, 30 June 1930, Page 11

RAILWAYS DISMISSALS.

NO " WHOLESALE " PLAN. STATEMENT OF MINISTER. / QUESTIONS BY MEMBERS. [BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON, Saturday. "The Minister cannot have given us tho whole story,". said a Labour member in tho House of Representatives this morning, after the Minister of Railways, Hon. W. A. Veitch, lmd said there was no intention of "going in for wholesale dismissals from tho railways workshops." Mr. M. J. Savage (Labour —Auckland West) had referred to the position at the Otahuhu workshops He said men were taken on there in accordance with tho Government's undertaking last session to absorb all the unemployed, but many had since been dismissed. A batch had even been discharged in Christmas week. Answering this criticism, which other Labour members, speaking after Mr. Savage, had also levelled at the Railways Department, Mr. Veitch said tho general position was that during the transition stage, when the men were being transferred from tho old workshops to the new workshops and tho new machinery was being erected, there was considerable dolay and loss of service in effecting repairs in the rolling stock, Those repairs had had to be deferred. Tho result was that last year the expenditure on repairs amounted to over £250,000 more than that in tho previous 12 months. That expenditure had brought the rolling stock up to a fairly good condition of repair, although he would not say it was perfect. They had now reached a stage when they could not continue such heavy expenditure for effecting repairs. That was tho reason why tho unpleasant duty now devolved on him to reduce tho number of men employed in tho Addington workshops, to which reference had also been made. "I assure tho House," said tho Ministor, "that it is not tho policy of tho Government to dispense with tho services of men in the Railway Department or in any other department when there is really useful work for them to do, but the stage has been reached when it is imperative that tho services of somo men should bo dispensed with. We all regret it, but those are tho facts that impose themselves on me at tho present time." Mr. R. McKeen (Labour —Wellington South) said men were also being dismissed where there were no repairs being done, and that some of them were men of from three to five years' service. Ho even knew of one caso where a man with 14 years' service had been dismissed. The working time of the men was also being cut down, in somo cases by as many as 30 hours a week. Surely, he said, there was no need for such a policy. " I am not going to rest content with a story such as the Minister has given us," said Mr. E. J. Howard (Labour—Christchurch South). "The Government has tho wind up and is discharging men until tho Royal Commission has gono round. Tho commission will not be able to tell all the story." Mr. Savage said tho Minister had told a very plausible tale, but it seemed to him that there was not much bottom to it. Tho Minister made no further reply.

FIFTY MEN DISCHARGED. WORKSHOPS AT DUNEDIN. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] DUNEDIN, Saturday. It is reported from the Hillside railway workshops that 50 casual employees were given a week's notice on Friday. This is said to be one of the measures adopted by the department for the curtailment of expenditure. It is also rumoured that it is proposed eventually to dispiiss the whole of the casual staff.