BANK OFFICERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23954, 1 November 1939, Page 6

BANK OFFICERS

EXTENDED WORKING HOURS „ OFFER TO EMPLOYERS ~ ; ■ V/v’j: ■ CONTRIBUTION TO WAR EFFORT (Special to Daily Times) WELLINGTON, Oct. 31. An offer to the banks to extend working hours up to four hours weekly, should this: be found necessary, hjis been made by the New Zealand Bank Officers’ Guild, as, a contribution <to the country’s war effort. .' / “It is vital that banking ’routine should proceed with as little intemi ption as possible,” states the ' Guilci’s official.organ, the New Zealand Banker, published to-day. "If we are to do our part in assisting the community in this way, an offer such as has jus]t been made was. most necessary. i “The executive committee is of tint* opinion that in view of the object* of the guild as laid down in its con-s stitution it would be failing in its I duty,” the article continues, “if some \ gesture was not made at this critical \ time. The only way to avoid the ’ danger of our offer being well-meaning and yet valueless from a practical viewpoint- was to make some, proposal on behalf of our members, which would be of immediate and definite assistance to the. banks.' ■> . Bank Staffs Depleted " Our guild records give, an indication of how the banks are being handicapped through our fellow officers enlisting in all parts of the country. We .have made this gesture knowing: well that our members as a whole will be glad to have the opportunity thus afforded of assisting the country and the banks in a practical way at this time. ; We understand the bank's are bringing up to . full salary the army pay of their officers who enlist. Our members who may work these additional hours, therefore, will be able to do so with the satisfaction of knowing that they are assisting their fellow officers who have gone into khaki, in addition to fulfilling the primary object of this gesture which is. of coilrre, to do our part in helping to keep the machinery of banking routine running smoothly, despite the difficulties created by the ever-increasing depletion in staffs. ; ■ : 1 “ The Minister of Labour (Mr P. C. Webb), replying to a.letter advising him that this offer would be made, provided it received his approval, stated quite clearly that, although no objection would be raised in connection with this proposal, his department had no power to vary the existing rights of workers. It was. therefore, left for the bank staffs to decide lor themselves whether or not they considered the outbreak of war a justifiable reason for such an offer being made. Individual Responsibility “The responsibility for having to make decisions for ourselves is one of the prices we must pay for democracy. and our ability to face- vjp to this cost is the chief factor in that most important of all political questions, whether or not we are qualified to have a voice in our own government. A community or organisation which is unable to weigh matters up and to come to decisions for itself and especially so where, such decisions call for a certain amount of self-sacri-fice will lose its freedom through its own inherent weakness, for it is because of these very weaknesses that dictators flourish. ;i

“Your Executive Committee, which is appointed by your own elected councillors and which can, therefore, be removed at your pleasure, has paid this price by making the preliminary decision as-far as guild members are concerned, and the matter is now left to each individual member to come to his own conclusion. The executive earnestly hopes that all our members will do their part in making the ideals underlying this gesture of real practical value.”