THE RAILWAYS TRIBUNAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23113, 30 January 1945, Page 4

THE RAILWAYS TRIBUNAL

Discussions With Assessors Statement By Chairman (N.Z.P.A.) WELLINGTON, Jan. 29. The Railways Tribunal is now in private session considering with the respective assessors the wages claims of the four railway organisations, the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the Railway Tradesmen's Association, the Engine-drivers, Firemen and Cleaners’ Association and the Railway Officers' Institute. When the Tribunal resumed in public this morning, Mr J. S. Roscoe (general secretary of the Railway Officers’ Institute) presented legal submissions and argument on the question of the Tribunal's jurisdiction to deal with claims made on behalf of the professional officers employed by the Department. The Department's advocate (Mr K. G. Reid) asked for an adjournment of the discussion of this question, and it was agreed that the matter should be brought up again at a later date on three days’ notice being given by either side. The chairman (Mr W, F. Stilwell. S.M.) then made the following statement:

“Until the resumption of the public hearing of the discussions on jurisdiction, the Tribunal will remain in private session with assessors, considering the claims of the four railway organisations. In many respects the claims of the four bodies are interlocked and will at times involve discussions jvith two of the men’s assessors at a time. The first claims to be dealt with will be the wages claims, the procedure being that these will be discussed with the assessor from the Railways Department and with the assessor from each of the men’s organisations before any conclusions are reached.

“After the wages claims have been dealt with, the remainder of the 73 claims submitted by the four organisations will be considered.”

Minister’s Hope

“I hope that the section of railwaymen who went on strike have now recognised the foolishness of their action,” said the Hon. R. Semple today. There was not a shred of justification for the strike. The men through their own organisations had been given the full benefit of the Government’s policy of giving every worker and association of workers the right to state their grievances and have them righted through reasonable and constitutional channels. Though tne right and privilege of submitting claims to the special tribunal was utilised thoroughly by the railwaymen’s organisations it was flagrantly abused by an impatient, impetuous, unthinking minority. They had preferred to endeavour to use the bludgeon and had failed to realise that they could in the last degree only clout their own heads. It was a matter for gratification that the majority of the railwaymen refused to let reason and commonsense be overthrown. The Minister added that a halt must be called to industrial irresponsibility and harmful insurgency. The men fighting overseas and those who had returned from service had never complained about their conditions in front of the enemy. Was it too much to ask all workers in this relatively peaceful eountry to do the same and never less than their best to maintain untarnished New Zealand’s great war effort?