THE RAILWAY SERVICE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2975, 22 March 1911, Page 7

THE RAILWAY SERVICE.

OFFICIALS DISCONTENTED. STRONG COMPLAINTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, March 9. The assertion made by tho New Zealand Railway Officers' Advocate that , "seething discontent and dissatisfaction aro manifest throughout the service, more par- , tioularly amongst the officer*," is endorsed ! locally. Inquiries made by a Herald representative showed. _ that far_ from being confined to one particular division the dis--1 content is rampant right through the ser--1 vice, and is likely to seriously affect the efficiency of the ser\*ce unless some measure of redress is granted, j "The Railway Officers' Advocate," oaid one member of the first division when approached, "does not overstate the position, but rather understates it. The feeling of discontent referred to is general throughout , tho Dominion, and is growing. Our principal grievance l ! lie in f)he facts that we are j paid no overtime for work performed after ordinary hours, and on Sundays, although overtime rates are paid in the Post and Telegraph Department; that men when promoted from case grade to another are only paid on the lower grade scales, and that the salaries for many of the higher positions are not equal to those paid in the | Poet and Telegraph Department. Wlhy we I as railway servants, who have the safety of j the public in our hands, should not bo placed upon the same, and even bettor, ( footing than the officials of the Post and . Telegraph Department is hard to oon- ! ocivo, but yet it is so, and the Minister declines to accede to the representations we have made. The only principle wjbich seams to actuate him in this matter is to make the railways pay, but he is doing this at the expense of efficiency, as by keeping down salaries ho is robbing us of the sweets of promotion, and a disheartened, I don't-care service is the result." j Another member of the first division declared that the feeling of discontent was never more acute and universally rampant • than; now, and that the principal cause of jit all was the Minister himself. "No mat- ' ter what we ask him for," said the official, j " we invariably meet with a refusal, and no j matter what further evidence is submitted, ; the answer is always the same. Tho railway servants as a whole, after the repeated refusals to rectify their grievances >\hich tlhey have met at Mr Millar's hands, have almost given up in l despair, and as evidence ;of this wholesale resignation is going on. • I cannot tell you how many have resigned locally lately, but the number has been considerable, and those who remain live in the j hope that ere long one whom they consider an autocratic Minister will quit the Railways portfolio, and that they will receive better, treatment from his successor." i Another official pointed out that the ser- ; vioo was rapidly being disorganised through ! constant resignations and tho practice of the department in filling up tho vacant positions with inexperienced lads. These lads, he said, through their inexperience, were I moro often a hindrance than a help afc j rush times, as they had to be taught, and j when the big holiday traffic was'on the seniors were put to their wits to keep tilings going'. MINISTERIAL SILENCE. (Froji Our Own Correspondent.) • WELLINGTON, March 10. Tho Minister of Railways states that he j does not intend to reply to the criticism directed at the department by the NewZealand Railway Officers' Advocate.