POSTAL SERVICE DISSATISFIED

Southland Times, Issue 23610, 10 September 1938, Page 4

POSTAL SERVICE DISSATISFIED

40-Hour Week In Operation

STAFFS VENTILATE GRIEVANCES

GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE ON RETIREMENTS

Reports of dissatisfaction in the general division of the Post and Telegraph Department in Christchurch over the operation of the 40-hour week, the retention in executive positions in the department of servants who have exceeded the retiring age, and the general conduct of the service are substantiated by reports from other offices throughout New Zealand, says The Press, Christchurch The Katipo, the official organ of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association, which became so militant a few years ago that its circulation in offices was prohibited, contains reports and articles which say discontent is seething in the service,

“The 40-hour week is being worked in a way that the Government would not allow private employers to work it,” an employee said to a reporter. “All that the rank and file are aslang is that the conditions of employment should be improved to bring them into line approximately with the conditions which the Government requires outside employers to observe. Nothing has been done and all the men are so displeased that the Christchurch offices have become a hot-bed of discontent—and the staff here is not alone in its grievances.” Most complaints are being made in the “traffic” departments. Hours in the clerical divisions, it was stated, were much more regulated. The broken hours worked by the department made the 40-hour week a farce. All overtime was worked at ordinary rates of pay, although overtime was limited by some Acts covering industries, while all awards specified increased payment. “The disadvantage under which we work was brought home to us when alterations were being made to the lay-out of the mail room,” the servant said. “There was a shortage of carpenters, and tradesmen were brought in from outside to work with the Government carpenters. The union men received Sunday pay at double rates; the Government carpenters were paid merely the normal rate.” SPREAD OF HOURS The hours of work were spread over an excessive period,-and the Government permitted extremely long days to be worked without giving any extra payment. Cases were quoted of men starting work at 7 a.m. and finishing at 11 p.m. Morning duty was from 7 to 11;. they were brought back at 1 p.m. and took tea hour between 4 and 5. When they finished at 11 p.m. they had worked 13 hours, spread over 16 hours. The regulations required that employees in the mail room working after midnight should be paid 2/- as dinner money; that payment was pointedly evaded by the men being signed off at that hour. On the following day the men were brought back for only two hours’ work. Men on shift found their daily seven hours spread over llj hours. Employees on the railway postal vans worked two days on the vans from 7.45 am. to 7.45 pun., three days in the mail room from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and one day from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. “The men naturally feel aggrieved with the continued failure of the department to straighten out this impossible position,” the employee said. “All complaints have to go through the Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association; which, the rank and file feel, is not live enough. Representations have been made to the department through staff committees in Wellington, but nothing has been done.” ALLEGED CHANGE OF ATTITUDE Allegations are also made that “pinpricking” orders are causing feeling among the men; an instance given was a search through documents 18 months old to discover offenders against a regulation requiring the formal signing of papers. “And whom do the men blame for the introduction of ‘pin-pricking’ tactics?” the informant was asked. “We blame the executives,” he replied. “The general feeling could not be better expressed than was done by a correspondent in the last issue of the Katipo, whose appeal to the Cabinet ministers was, ‘Get rid of these Tories before they get rid of you!’ Their tactics are only irritating men, already disturbed that the Government has not made effective the principle that all officers should retire on the completion of 40 years of service.” The service, he said, had expressed itself in no uncertain manner over the retention of Mr G. McNamara (Direc-tor-General) who had 42 years of service and other high executives who had exceeded the period. He quoted reports from various sections throughout New Zealand calling on the Government to make a prompt exercise of the principle. One from Wellington stated:— “We feel that the time is considerably overdue for the PostmasterGeneral to make a searching investigation into the manner in which the Government’s policy is being applied (or otherwise) relative to staff matters. It is considered that the Government would not for. one minute tolerate some of the things done in the name of the departmental policy.” No fewer than 900 appeals were lodged throughout the service against the regrading made early in the year. The Director-General and other high executives were given increases of £lOO per annum, while the rank and file gained only £lO, he said. The dissatisfaction was heightened when the staff knew well that promotion for all was being delayed by men not being compulsorily retired after 40 years of service. Moreover, the men had strong feelings against the manner in which reports for regrading were made.