BENEFIT SCHEME.

Otago Witness, Issue 3870, 15 May 1928, Page 34

BENEFIT SCHEME.

RAILWAYMEN OF SECONf DIVISION. IMPROVING INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS. WELLINGTON, May 11. Railwaymen of the second division have recently ballotted on the question of adopting alternative proposals as a basis for a national sick benefit scheme in their service, carrying a departmental subsidy ot £1 for £1 up to £BOOO annually. The result of the plebiscite is now available. It was indicated by the Railway Board that the ballot would be a test of the mens interest. in the matter, and the number of voting papers returned would enable it to decide whether it was desirable to proceed with the scheme. As 9658 railwaymen have voted, it is fairly safe to suggest that the Provisional Committee which prepared the plans of organisation will be required to formulate them in greater detail. The proposed contribution is 2s 6d per four weeks, and two proposals were submitted to the vote. The first proposal was that the funds should be applied wholly to the payment of benefits to members unable to work as a result of sickness or injury, who are not in receipt of workers’ compensation. This received an overwhelming proportion of votes, the total being 8400. The alternative, which received 1258 votes, was that the funds should be applied partly in sick benefit and partly to the payment of an allowance, not exceeding 15s a week, to members in receipt of workers’ compensation. The accepted scheme is expected to provide a sick benefit of £2 5s a week. It was strongly recommended by the Provisional Committee, which pointed out that accident pay now equals two-thirds of the weekly earnings, but for every day lost as a result of an accident suffered on duty three days are lost owing to sickness or accident suffered off duty. The official journal of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, in commending the sick benefit scheme, declared that it was only another step in the development of improved industrial relations. “ The basic wage man in particular imperatively needs extra help when he meets with sickness or accident,” states the journal, “ and the national fund proposes to give this assistance in a systematic way. The Railways Department has shown constant generosity in meeting exceptional cases of distress by the payment of individual compassionate allowances, thus following the precedent of many liberal employers.” It is understood that when the national sick benefit fund is operating there will be no call on the department for these grants, and therefore the subsidy up to £BOOO per annum, not from the taxpayer, but from railway revenue, may be regarded as * compounding the compassionate allowances.”