TWO DISMISSED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26769, 12 May 1948, Page 4

TWO DISMISSED

PUBLIC SERVANTS IN DUNEDIN REFUSAL OF TRANSFER Special Correspondent .. WELLINGTON, May 11. Several officers in' the public service in the South Island have been informed by the Public Service Commission that if they do not accept transfer to Wellington they will be dismissed. The secretary of the Public Service Association, Mr J. Turnbull, said tonight that already two young Dunedin single men had refused transfer to Wellington, and had been dismissed He understood they were now in other employment. A statement by Mr Turnbull published by the, Public Service Journal to-night says that under the Public Service Act of 1912, the commission has power to dismiss officers who will not accept transfer and have failed to justify their refusal. The journal says that the question of compulsory transfers will be considered by the national executive of the association next week, and that the executive will wish to consider whether the law should be altered in view of the vast changes which the service has undergone since 1912 and the serious situation confronting officers required to transfer to cities and towns which cannot accommodate them. The officers at present under notice of dismissal are all single men, but as yet there is no guarantee, says the journal, that married men may not be similarly treated. The journal, in a discussion/ the housing dilemma facing public servants, says that more and more public servants are choosing to sacrifice their careers and risk dismissal rather than give up tneir homes. Mr L A Atkinson, personnel officer of the Public Service Commission, confirmed to-night the report that two Dunedin men had been dismissed for refusing transfer. He said it had always been recognised that men who wished to take advantage of career opportunities in the public service would sooner or later have to spend some time in Wellington. The commission always examined the reasons for refusals of transfer and invoked its power of dismissal only where it considered the refusal unjustified. He said an assurance cou.d be given that married men would not be penalised. The commission had regard for the problem facing married men, and a housing bureau for the service ha< been established to facilitate exchanges. '