RAILWAY DISMISSALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20988, 26 September 1931, Page 10

RAILWAY DISMISSALS.

COMPLAINTS OF HARDSHIPS.

MEN ON THE LOWER GRADES.

SMALLER SUPERANNUATION.

Complaints that the railway service has been singled out for especially drastic retrenchment, whereas most other Government departments have not been reduced in personnel, are being freely ventilated, following the action taken this week in notifying certain railway officers with 30 years' service that they will be superannuated at the end of this month. Under normal circumstances, railway employees are not superannuated until they have reached the age of 60 or have completed 40 years' service. However, earlier in the year many officers were informed that it was proposed to retire them after 35 years' service, and, more recently, the chairman of the Railways Board, Mr. 11. H. Sterling, announced that it was proposed, under section 14 of the Finance Act, 1931, to retire certain .officers with service exceeding 30 years.

Those in the Auckland district affected by this latest edict includo 12 members of tho first division and seven members of the second division in the traffic branch. In addition, two other traffic officers with 35 years' service and two who have reached 60 years of ago will be retired shortly. Six Auckland enginedrivers with over 30 years' service will also be superannuated at tho end of tho month.

Serious hardship will be caused several of the retrenched employees. Most of them hive occupied comparatively modest posts, and several of them have largo families. By being retired before the expiry of their normal term their superannuation benefits will also be considerably curtailed. Effect of Early Retirement. One instance of the effect of earlier retirement on superannuation benefit was quoted by an official yesterday. One retrenched employee, aged 47, has had 33 years' service with tho department. Normally he would have been superannuated seven years hence and, provided he received no further promotion, he would then have been entitled to draw as superannuation two-thirds of his salary of £325, namely, £223. However, he will now receive only 16-23rds of that amount, namely, £155, which is barely £3 a week. Other cases vary according to circumstances. Some of those retrenched will have to make ends meet on substantially smaller pensions than that paid in the instance quoted, and they are faced with the prevailing difficulty of securing other work to augment their meagre superannuation payments.

The suggestion was made by one senior officer that it would have been fairer to retrench those employees in other departments ivith 35 and 40 years' service before trenching on the ranks of railway employees with only 30 years' service. His suggestion was that vacancies thus caused should be filled by promotions within each department, and that younger railway employees, particularly from the clerical division, should be transferred to other departments to recruit the strength of the lower grades.. Some such adjustments would obviate the infliction of the hardship imposed by the retirement of comparatively low-paid employees after 30 years' service. The Officers AJJected. The following traffic branch officers of the first division, stationed in the Auckland district, will be superannuated at the end of this month, after 30 years' service:—Messrs. S. I. Greenwood, D. F. Holland, B. M. McKeown, W. Whitelaw, C. 0. E. Broad, J. Commons, W. B. O'Brien, all of the clerical staff, Auckland; G. Moore, stationmaster, Hamilton; O. G. J. S. Jackson, goods clerk, Hamilton; W. J. K. Dougan, stationmaster, Maungaturoto; G. Paton, clerk, Helensville; H. E. Goonan, clerk, rinsville.

The following second division men are being superannuated after 30 years' service : —Messrs. I. W. Hay ward, signalman, Auckland; F. Cassidy, storeman, Auckland; A. Dunsmuir, guard, Auckland; E. I. Keys, guard, Auckland; ft. Kelly, shunter, Otahuhu; M. Ryan, guard, Frankton; W. Mcintosh, porter, Frankton.

The following will shortly be superannuated on reaching the age of 60:— Messrs. ,T. Newburn, guard, Rotorua, and W. E. Hollier, storeman, Auckland.

The following will retire on completing 35 years' service Messrs. C. ,T. Moon, acting-goods agent, Auckland, and P. Augur, porter, Auckland.