OTHER RAILWAY GRIEVANCES.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13330, 20 March 1911, Page 4

OTHER RAILWAY GRIEVANCES.

There are other grievances voiced in the Advocate that also call for inquiry. It is alleged that continually the value of sonic position is reduced, that it is difficult to say where the Department will stop. Oiie of the latest actions complained of is the alleged reduction of the status and salary of Car and Wagon Inspectors, through which six men have been debarred from receiving promotion. It is pointed out that the work and responsibility of Car and Wagon Inspectors has steadily increased as the additional vehicles brought into commission yearly, as shown in Railway Statements, go to prove, and it is claimed that instead of reducing the wages attached to the positions, the increased work and responsibility should at least entitle the new occupants to receive salaries commensurate with those enjoyed by their predecessors. When a deputation which interviewed the Minister of Railways in September last brought under hia notice the Departmental policy in respect to the reductions in the status of positions that were taking place, the Minister stated that he was not in favour of reducing the value of any position in the service, providing the work attached to it bad not decreased. But, according to the statements of the men, it is very evident that the recent actions of the Department arc diametrically opposed to the policy laid down by the Minister. The Advocate maintains that the value of the New Zealand railways is greater now than ever before, but the worth of the labour to keep them in operation is to-day estimated at a lower figure than was the case five years ago, and that it is time that Parliament, which is, through the Minister of Railways, responsible for the proper and efficient control of the Railway Department, realised the .seething discontent and dissatisfaction manifest throughout the service. It has Ijcen inferred that a certain amount of the existing trouble has arisen through the Minister’s instructions in regard to various matters being misinterpreted by those in charge of the general management of the railways, but it is pointed out that the Hon. Mr Millar is a particularly clear and concise speaker at ordinary times, and that it ought not to be difficult for him to explain to the Head Office officials precisely what he wants done. It is stated that last year there were between 750 and 800 resignations from the Railway Service, and that for the three months ended 30th November last there were twenty-five resignations in the Wanganui district alone. 'lbis, it is claimed, is a further proof of the dissatisfaction that is prevalent among railway employees at the present time, and it is contended that it the resignations from Che service maintain their present rate, in a (few years half of the staff will consist of juniors, with but’a limited experience of railway work. The editorial concludes by stating that on every page of the railway rule book is printed in bold type the announcement: “The first and moat important duty of every member is to provide for the safety of the public,” and suggests that this might he fittingly altered to road, “The principal danger to the public lies in the inexperience of the etaft.” It does seem strange —quite inexplicable—that, while the Government legislates for the protection of the workers of private employers, from some of whom it seeks to exact the full pound of flesh, in the way of increased pay, shorter hours of labour, and other matters, it should he so lax with regard to the fmployoes in various State Departments, the lowsalaried and underpaid men in the Railway Department in particular.