FINAL APPROACH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26779, 24 May 1948, Page 6

FINAL APPROACH

TRAMWAYS UNION DECISION SATISFACTION SOUGHT QUESTION of payment A final approach to the engineermanager of the City Transport Department, Mr L. C. Greig, will be made to-day by the Dunedin branch of the New Zealand Tramways Union on the question of payment of men who normally perform the duties of acting bus drivers, motormen and one-man cable car drivers. It is understood that certain changes which the manager has decided to make are considered by the union to be contrary to the recent decision of the Tramways Tribunal. If the union does not receive satisfaction from the manager, the men affected will not perform these acting duties. A special general meeting of the Dunedin branch of the union was called at the week-end to hear a report on the recent tramways tribunal in Wellington. After the meeting, the president of the Dunedin branch. Mr W. B. Richards, was authorised to make a statement to the Daily Times.

“ The terms of the Tramways Tribunal decision recognised in the past for the' payment of men who normally carry out the duties of acting bus drivers, motormen and oneman cable car drivers, are not to be observed by the department in the same manner in which they have been singe July, 1947,” according to the statement. “ This matter was considered at length at a special meeting of the union at the week-end when the executive was authorised to make one more approach—the third of three —to the manager to find out whether it was possible that, prior to Wednesday, when his decision is to be given effect to, it could in some way be altered.

“Failing satisfaction at the conference between the union executive and the manager on Monday,” the statement continued, “two shift meetings are to be held, when it will be recommended that all those who would normally carry out the relieving duties of those on holidays or on days off will decline such work, as we consider that the procedure that has been recognised since July of last year can well carry on until such time as some competent authority may decide this issue.” It is understood that when the union approached the manager last Monday to investigate the rumour of a change the union was informed that the management intended to operate a new procedure. As a result of that conference, the union made representations to its head office in Wellington. The City Transport Department called the union representatives to a conference last Friday, when, after a two-hour discussion, a deadlock was reached. The union rpresentatives, it is understood, were disappointed, because they considered that all the recognised understandings in respect to the issue had been clearly defined and because payments had been made for many months past according to these understandings. The union representatives considered that they had no option but to report the matter to the special general meeting held at the week-end, when the decision explained in the supplied statement was made. If the union does not receive satisfaction in its final approach to the manager to-day, it is understood by the Daily Times that newspaper reporters will be invited to attend the shift meetings on Wednesday, so that a full report of the proceedings can be made available to the public.