LABOUR DISPUTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14213, 14 May 1908, Page 9

LABOUR DISPUTES

WHOLESALE DISMISSALS. ROLLESTON RAILWAY DUPLIOATION WORKS. A gang of labourers who had been employed in ballasting work connected with the Rollcston railway duplication camo into Christchurch on Wednesday with a grievance. Thoir' object was .to interview the engineer in charge of tie work in regard to the. interpretation of a rule ae to payment for time occupied in travelling to and from work, but'as the officer was not available they prepared to return to work. They were informed, however, that they need not tremble to return, oa their places had been filled. The result was that a small hand of 21 men wero out of work. Speaking to a reporter of the Press, one of t))e men gave a statement of their case. Somo timo ago, lie said, the men sont. in a petition asking whether t.hey wero entitled to be paid for time occupied in travelling to and from work. A reply wag received that according to the rules an allowance of ]s per day extra would bo made if the men wwo away from Christchurch for more than 11 hours in a day, that t.ime to include travelling time and working hours. "Tho usual practice," our informant continued, "is for us to leave Christchurch or Addington in a (.rain at 7 a.m., and proccod to the gravel pit at Islington. We finish there at 5 p.m., and then we have to wait for a quarter of an hour for tho Islington workers' train, which arrives in Christchurch at 5.50 p.m. Thus we are usually away from the city for 10 hour* 50 minutes, or 10 minute? short of the 11 hours requisite to qualify ua for the extra shilling. On two or three occasions wo have been away move than 11 hours, but we did not receive tho extra payment. The practice has been to pay ub as from 7.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., eight hours and a-half, at tho rato of Is por hour, and that was done whether wo actually started work at 7.30 or not. " Tho trouble arose when the gangor told us that our pay did not, start until we actually commenced work. Wo had left town by the train at 7 a.m., and it was past 9 o'clock when wo got to tho pit, the train being delayed at various stations. According to _ the <ra.ngor. therefore, ■wo were to < receive nothing for two hours' travelling time, though tho delay was duo to things boyond our control. Wo argued that wo had never been subjected to this sort of treatment before, but the ganger said that it was according to the rules. The men proposed seeing the engineer to discuss the new interpretation of tho,rule. We did not want to do anything that was not straight, so we filled up the ballast train from the pit, and oarae back with it. to Addington. Wo came into town to wait, on the engineer in a lxxlv. but ho was away, arid wo saw his elbrk. Tho olerk rang up the inspector, and t.he inspector informed un that, ire had bettor go back to work. Tho men were going baric, but the inspector's clerk intervened, and eaid that, wo were nil dismissed, and that.another gang -was on in our place. ■ Wo were 1 Quito satisfied with payment for eight and a-half hours' work, even though wo wero away from Christchuroh for nearly 11 hours daily. Rut we think that to rcdueo our pay to 6s 6d per day is not right, in view of the time occupied poing to and from work. Th" travelling is not too comfortaltlo. Besides, wo havo often to cat our dinners when travelling from one plaoe to another, and on somo of those occasions 26 men have been crowded into a small F w.i"gon, which has seating only for 14." The men brought their eiso boforo Mill. G. Ell. M.P., in the afternoon. Ho expressed the opinion that the difficulty siiould bo overcome without much*