RIGHTS DENIED.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 18023, 19 May 1930, Page 6

RIGHTS DENIED.

CIVIL SERVANTS’ WAGES. I STRONG PROTESTS VOICED. ARBITRATION SCHEME URGED. GENERAL SECRETARY’S CRITICISM. Plain speaking on the subject of civil servants’ salaries and the continued delay of the Government In defining the position took place at the annual meeting of the Walkato-King Country section of the Post and Telegraph Employees’ Association at Hamilton on Saturday evening. In his address, Mr J. H. McKenzie, general Secretary of the Association, criticised the Inaction of the departmental secretary, whose ideas on the question could not be ascertained. He expressed the opinion that the service should be free from political interference and suggested the formation of an arbitration court to settle disputes. Air W. F. Kent-Johnston, who presided, dealt at some length with steps that had been taken to represent further the salaries question and said a deputation had waited on the Secretary of the Department, and they had also applied to the PostmasterGeneral, Sir Joseph Ward, for an interview at Rotorua, but were received instead by the Hon. G- W. Forbes, at Wellington. Although no tangible results had accrued from these effort's, said Mr Kent-Johnston, the justice and equity of the association’s case had not been, and could not be challenged. Even if the Government were unable to accede to their requests at this juncture, the association felt that much would be achieved if the soundness of their claims was admitted, and an assurance given that an improvement would be effected _ when better times returned. He exhorted the local membership to stand firm behind the Dominion executive in the fight for long overdue improvements in their economic conditions.

Mr J. H. McKenzie, general secretary of the association, said Mr KentJohnston had left little to be said about the representations and efforts put forward by the executive on behalf of the service. He therefore proposed to deal with the way those representations had been received, and why it was that they were not getting results consistent with the justice and equity of the case presented. First and foremost it was necessary to examine the attitude of the secretary of the department towards the claims for economic betterment. Was he sympathetic, merely passive, or hostile ? Unfortunately, no one could say with certainty. In the past few' years the secretary had made many statements to suggest that he had certain improvements in view, and the service had patiently awaited developments.

Doubts About Goodwill. ET" — ' Very little had been done, however, and it was natural that discontent and restivencss had developed to the stage that doubts of the secretary’s goodwill and intent were finding articulate expression in all ranks of the service to-day. At the recent interview with the secretary, the association president had prefaced his remarks on the salary question with a reminder to the secretary that, following on the failure to secure salary improvements when the question was before last session of Parliament, the association had been told that it had handled the matter wrongly; that in going to Parliament the association had gone over the secretary’s head and thereby' rendered assistance from him difficult—if not impossible. Department’s Attitude.

Benefiting from that advice, the association was no\y; coming to the administrative head first, placing its requests before him, and wanting to know whether he was sympathetic and prepared to assist the service towards securing' improvements that were long overdue. Had the secretary responded? asked Mr McKenzie. He had vaguely hinted at difficulties and obstacles that were in the way of the association getting anything, but whether tjiose obstacles were Governmental or with the uniformity committee was left for conjecture, and he had adroitly evaded stating his own position. When asked to state what the difficulties were, and why the association was never favoured with a direct reply to its representations, the secretary had said the association was making the error of thinking the Government would negotiate upon these .matters, whereas all that was conceded was that representations would be received and considered.

“Just and Fair Representations.”

Viewing the Government in the role of an employer, said 'Mr McKenzie, its employers could never be satisfied with the position taken up in denying what was conceded in every other walk of life as between employer and employed—the right of negotiation on wages and working conditions which determined the economic welfare and happiness of employees. The Post and Telegraph Association had a large membership, continued Mr McKenzie, and it was time that that numerical strength was made more proportionately felt in the moral weight which was put behind just and fair representations that had to do with the vital matters affecting their welfare. Experience had shown that Governmental determination was a failure because of the many trammelling influences which clouded the issues, and the association had been forced to the conviction that the only way to secure fair, impartial consideration was for the principles of arbitration to be introduced into the determination of wages and working conditions, in State services. The Commonwealth of Australia afforded an illustration in point. That country was passing through an economic crisis at present of far greater magnitude than that affecting New Zealand, yet where the interests of Government employees were concerned, it was significant that the Federal Prime Minister, had convened a joint meeting of all the organisations and frankly stated the position of the country, and the moral obligations of everyone, and perhaps more particularly of State servants to help the Government face the problems.. Position in Australia, The Federal Premier had made it clear that, his Government had no intention of reducing salaries, for the | reasons: (a) That he did not believe]

that wage reductions were the solution of economic difficulties; (b) That' the Government was-not justified in reducing the wages of public servants merely because such a step was comparatively easy; and (c) That he was opposed to wage reduction 'in the public service because that meant a form of special taxation upon a comparatively small section of the community. The Government was greatly concerned, however, with the fact that a further charge of £IBO,OOO to cover increased cost of living was arising by the automatic operation of the award; but it was nevertheless a fact that had the cost of living fallen salaries would have been reduced by a similar amount. The Premier was not making any suggestions to the organisations that they were morally bound to accept, but he left it to themselves to decide whether by refraining from initialing claims at this juncture, they were prepared to help the Government and the country in its time of difficulty. Need for Arbitration. Treated like that, said Mr McKenzie, the reply was obvious, and it was a fact that Australian public servants were not now claiming the increases in question, although their right to receive them under improved financial conditions had not been waived in the slightest. Also it must be recognised that, apart from railwaymen in New South Wales, no reduction in wages had been imposed—although the newspapers were making the , foregoing arrangements appear like wage reductions. If public servants’ conditions in New Zealand were governed by arbitration, there could be none of the party political influences felt that had been rampant of late years, continued Mr McKenzie. The simple position was that P. and T. employees served the community as a whole, efficiently and without consideration of politics, and it was only fair that when the question of remuneration came up it should be considered dispassionately and free from party political influences. That would appear to be possible only by the appointment of an arbitrator and the elimination of the tried-and-found-wanting. political machine. Mr McKenzie concluded his addressrelating to salaries by emphasising the fact that the schedule of improvements recently published in the press, and interpreted by many to mean the settlement of the main grievance of the service, affected progressive juniors on one side of the department only, leaving entirely untouched the bulk of the service with domestic responsibilities In other 1 -words the maximum salaries paid to the lower grades remained unaltered, despite successive regradings of higher officials