"TRAMMIES'" TROUBLES..

NZ Truth, Issue 692, 21 September 1918, Page 6

"TRAM MIES'" TROUBLES..

: In the last issue of "Truth" it, was -.-Stated that a. determined effort, was be- ' ing made by the . Otago Tramway ■Workers' Union to better the condi- , tions and rates of pay at present obit taining m the Dunedin services. 'As "f tot the most part, the men are em- • ployees of the City Council, they con- '■■ sider it to be right that the public • P should be acquainted with the rates. of pay and the conditions under which the men work, and the facts here published are supplied by the union with • that end m yiew. f -'■ In all the past agreements and awards it has been the practice to compute the wages. on the basis of a week of from 55 to 60 hours, and as a result /the wages to-day of a first-class or senior motorman are less per hour than the Wage paid to unskilled labor by the Public Works Department and many private employers. In the case of the motormen the wages are Is 2%dper hour, plus 3s per week war bonus, and the wages of a laborer m the employ of the Public „ Works Department are lis per day or ;._ Is 4%d per hour. . . . f; A man wishing to become a motor- •: man must first serve at least 12 months I as a conductor before being allowed to I train as a motorman. He must then I give 21 days' training for nothing., Fur ther, he must gain a proficiency certiI flcate m theory and practice. Then he I must pass a medical and sight test. ■ When these preliminaries are comple- ■ ted he must serve three years as a ■ motorman before he becomes entitled to ■ receive Is 2%d per hour. Bearing'all I these things m mind, it ■] seems clear H that his rate of remuneration is made X quate. And when it is taken into ac-v H count that a grave responsibility jests B| upon the men manning a tramcar, and H also the high nervous tension insepaB[ fable from the work, it cannot be won-

wrmmfflMimw mini— -unit Ir'^ffPffTfiilHifffTil I _ ~~ ■== , dered at if the men claim to be treated as skilled . rather than unskilled. A glance at the following rates of pay will show- how these men are paid ' for the services they so efficiently render: MOTORMEN. For week of .8 hours. First year. Is l%d, plus '3s bonus £2 Ifi 0 Second year, Is l%d, plus 3a bonus 218 0 Third year, Is 2%d, plus 3s bonus 3 0 0 After third year, Is 2%d, plus „ „ „ 3s bonus S 2 0 CONDUCTORS. First year, Is O^d, plus 3s bonus •** ** " Second year, Is o%d, plus 3s bonus •• 214 0 Third year,. Is o%d, plus 3s - bonus 2 14 0 After third year, Is l%d, plus 3s bonus • 216 0 The conditions under which the men here work are claimed to be the worst m the Dominion. The principal bad features-a re the number of broken shifts and the ' length of time that elapses between the start and ultimate finish of these shifts. To quote a case>in point, it is stated that on one shift, Monday to Thursday running (the table quoted is Al; or flrst Normanby-St. Clair), the crew sign on at 6.20 a.m. and are signed off at 2.40 p.m., being allowed a epell about half-way through of 28 minutes for a meal. These men resume duty at 5 p.m., and work about 41 minutes. In other words, «the men are not really free from 6.20 a_n. until about 8.46 p.m.— a span of about 11% hours, and the actual time worked and paid for is approximately B*4 hours. This, however, is one of the best of the broken shifts, which number about one -third Of the total number of shifts m the full seven days' running. ' The G tables, of which there are nine, are said to be the worst of the broken shifts, and the following table (G2) is 'quoted as a fair example. In this case the men sign on at 7.22 a.m., and work until 8.63 a.m., resuming duty at 10.22 a.m., and again signing off at 12.30 p_n. They are then free until 4.44 p.m.. front which time they work on until 8.89 pjn., when they finish for the day. Their total time m traffic is seven hburs and 84 minutes, spread over a. period of 18 hours and It minuten. It should be explained that an , allowance of tlnve for sirning on and off is paid for as follows :— Motormen flrat sign on eight minutes, and each subsequent sign on flYe minutes; sign off for the day, seven minutes. Conductors :— First sign on 10 minutes, and each subsequent .sign on 15 minutes; sign off for day, seVen minutes. These allowances, plus time m traffic, con _ stitute the time for which the men are paid, and nine 'hours must be worked m one day before overtime rates are ■ paid. The figures above given refer to the Work done from Monday to Thursday inclusive. The Friday and Saturday time-tables for this shift are even worse. On Fridays the starting time is 7.22 a.m., and the finishing time is 10.29 a.m., the men working 8 hours 38 minutes m 15 hours and 11 minutes, while on Saturdays work begins at 7.22 a.m., and finishes at 10.33 p.nu, giving 6 hours and 54 minutes' work m 15. hours and 11 minutes. Saturday's work is m four . parts — 1.9.; the men j sign on four times. ' This table shows that m a week of j six days, from Monday to Saturday, the men spend 83 hours and 26 minutes m the earning of, m the case of the motorman, 48 hours and 23 minutes* pay, at Is l%d and war bonus 8s; and m the case of the conductor 83 hours and 26 minutes to earn 46 hours and 35 minutes' pay, at 1b o%d, plus j 3s bonus. ■ | The strain upon ft wan whose work i is Bpread over euch lengthy periods, and whose responsibilities are those of life and limb, must be great, and they ask for better conditions.-