NO BIG SALARIES ARE ENJOYED BY POSTAL OFFICERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18889, 12 October 1929, Page 2

NO BIG SALARIES ARE ENJOYED BY POSTAL OFFICERS.

COMPARISON SHOWS THEIR SCALE IS A VERY MODEST ONE. (Special to the “ Star.”) AUCKLAND. October 11. “We are in hearty accordance with the slogan ‘More Business in Government’ and the suggestion of placing the Civil Service and State enterprises on a commercial business footing, but from bitter experience we feel and know that those responsible for echoing such sentiments are really insincere.” This statment was made by the Auckland Telegraph Economic Committee to-day.

The committee says that it has been able to ga'ther certain information that would permit the salaries paid to executive and administrative officers of the Department to be placed in an unfavourable light in comparison with those paid to similarly classed officers on the salary list of the Auckland ; City Council in the list (appended below). It is pointed out that a Department which holds securities valued at £49,000,000 and conducting an efficient service finds itself in an invidious position in comparison with business institutions. The salaries paid are set out in salary value sequence to permit their unfavourable position to be more closely viewed for purpose of comparisn:— Town Clerk, Auckland City Council, £ISOO. City Engineer, Auckland City Council. £ISOO. Manager, Auckland Transport Board, £ISOO. Secrctar3% P. and T. Department, £I3OO. Chief Telegraph Engineer, P. and T. Department, £1250. First Assistant Secretary, P. and T. Department, £IOSO. City treasurer, Auckland City Council. £IOOO. Tramway and City Electrical Engineer, Auckland City Council, £950. Second Assistant Secretary, P. and T. Department, £950. Assistant City Engineer, Auckland City Council, £9OO. Assistant Town Clerk, Auckland City Council. £BOO. City Valuer, Auckland City Council, £BOO. Chief Postmaster, Auckland, £790 10s. District Telegraph Engineer, Auckland, £790 10s. Chief Accountant, Transport Board, £750. Telegraph Engineer, Auckland, £665. Law and Committee Clerk, Auckland City Council, £650. Traffic Superintendent of Tramways, Auckland. £650. Chief Sanitary Inspector, Auckland, £650. Waterworks Superintendent, Auckland, £650. Chief Clerk and Tramway Cashier, Auckland City Council, £650. Manager of Abattoir, £650. Chief Traffic Inspector, Auckland City Council, £650. Chief Librarian, Auckland City Council, £650. Telegraph Engineer, Auckland, £615. Assistant Chief Postmaster, Auckland, £615. Parks Superintendent, Auckland City Council, £6OO. City Organist, Auckland City Council, £6OO. Engineer's Assistant, Auckland City Council (plus £SO bonus), £6OO. Accountant, Chief .Post Office, Auckland, £565. Assistant Telegraph Engineer, Auckland, £565. Senior Supervisor, Telegraph Branch, Auckland, £565. Garage Superintendent, Auckland City Council. £550. Chief Building Inspector, Auckland City Council, £550. Bandmaster, Auckland City Council, £520. Superintendent of Mails, Auckland, £515. Supervisor, Money Order and Savings Bank, Auckland, £515. Checking Officer, Auckland City Council, £SOO. Rolling Stock Superintendent, Auckland City Council, £SOO. Overhead Superintendent, Auckland City Council, £SOO. Superintendent of Claims, Auckland City Council, £SOO. Chief Draughtsman, General Post Office. Wellington, £470. “The secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, controlling a staff of 11,727 officers will be seen to possess a salary value of £2OO below that paid to the Town Clerk and Manager of the Transport Board and City Engineer,” adds the committee. “The Chief Postmaster at Auckland, who directly controls a chief post office staff of 713 officers and a district staff of 908, making a grand total of 1617, 78 permanent offices and 381 non-permanent offices or a grand total of 459 post and telegraph offices altogether, who is responsible for approximately 350 mail contracts, ranks in salary value £9 10s below that paid to the City Council Valuer and the Assistant Town Clerk.

“For the purposes of further coznparisons, the following salaries paid in the Auckland City may also be interesting;—Town Clerk, Mount Eden Borough Council, £750; Engineer, Mount Eden Borough Council, £850; manager of the Bank of New Zealand, £2500; Manager of Auckland Savings Bank. £2OOO. “The district telegraph engineer with a staff of 801 officers, who controls millions of pounds of valuable electrical plant and administers a district that reaches from the North Cape to Gisborne commands a salary value of a minor executive officer on the City Council staff.”