I.—6a.

110

|B. W. McVILLY.

72. Supposing you closed at 2 o'clock on Friday instead of 2 on Saturday I —You still have the same thing; it is immaterial what day you close. 73. If it is immaterial xx'hat day you close, xvhere is the objection to altering the date from Saturday til! Monday for beginning the period?—My experience was that Saturday was a busy day and Monday a slack day, and as Saturday's receipts xvould be in excess of Monday's it would be possible to manipulate the cash. 74. You stated that the Department recognized Sunday service xvhere the District Officer said that Sunday duties must be performed?— Yes. 75. Are there any records in existence xvhere you have disagreed xvith the suggestions of the District Officers? —Oh, yes, no doubt. The Department xvants to know the reason for paying any men for Sunday duty. 76. Ihere are instances of your not having considered the reason satisfactory?— Yes. 77. If an officer goes on duty to despatch a train on Sunday is he allowed four hours for that, regardless of hoxv long it may take him ? —Yes. If he is on duty for one hour he gets paid for four, and if over four hours he gets paid for a day. 78. If a man was on duty at midnight and a train arrived at 1 o'clock on Sunday morning, 1 understood you to say he would not get paid. Supposing his work finished at 8 o'clock and he was there later as the result of a train being run or a special train, do you think he should be paid then? —If a man xvas brought out to commence his duty to start a train he xvould be paid. 79. But supposing his work finished at 8 o'clock on the Saturday night, but owing to the despatch of an extra train he had to go on from 12 o'clock till I o'clock on the Sunday morning, do you not think that should be recognized?—l think that is recognized where tiny special trains have been running—not as a general thing, but where a man has had to come out specially, if he had finished at 6 o'clock and bad to come out specially, then it has been recognized. There have been cases, I know. 80. That is an admission that the principle of making an allowance under those circumstances is right?— Under certain circumstances. Where there is any special circumstance it is dealt xvith on the circumstances and gone into at the time. 81. But only if the officer makes a claim? —Generally speaking, the matter is brought up by the District Officer. 82. Mr. Brown.] Do your officers not go at irregular times and say to the booking clerk, " Kindly give me the keys of your cash-box, as I xvant to look into it and check the cash "?—ln some cases it is done. Some of our officers do that from time to time.

Wkdnesoay, 4th October, 1911. Andhkw Graha.xi examined. (No. 25.) 1. The Chairman.] What are you? —President of the Railway Officers' Institute, and Stationmaster at Port Chalmers. 2. You propose to deal xvith clause 15 of the petition!- Yes. The clause reads, " 15. That officers are required from time to time to wink overtime, and that no provision is made under the regulations for remunerating them, nor do they receive any remuneration for such overtime." Our comparison on this occasion is on the basis of the Post and Telegraph overtime rates as compared with the Railways. Post and Telegraph: "Overtime" means the time in which any official or departmental duty is performed outside the regular hours of duty, and "Sunday" includes Good Friday and Christmas Day. Payment for overtime is made at the following rates ; Officers drawing salaries exceeding £250, 2s. lid. per hour; officers drawing salaries exceeding £200 and not exceeding £250. 2s. per hour; officers drawing .salaries exceeding £100 and not (exceeding ,£2OO, Is. 6d. per hour; cadets and cadettes, Is. per hour; other officers drawing salaries not exceeding £100, Is. per hour; telegraph messengers, (id. per hour. Payment is made at a rate and a half for overtime at all hours on Sundays for ever}' purpose, and on week-days betxveen 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. only, when mails are specially authorized by the Secretary, General Post Office, to be sorted. But no payment for any overtime to any officer is made at a rate exceeding 3s. per hour. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the regulations, no person is paid more than 10s. for duty in telephone exchange on a Sunday or a holiday. No overtime alloxvance is made to officers of either branch of the service unless the extra attendance exceeds twenty minutes. Attendance up to forty-five minutes counts as half an hour; over forty-five minutes as one hour. No overtime is payable for midnight cable Press attendance, or for the attendance of any staff especially appointed for the sorting of mails betxveen 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. No payment for overtime for services other than those provided for by regulations is alloxved except in cases of extraordinary or exceptional attendance, xvhen specially approved of by the Minister. Overtime is paid for Sunday attendance, attendance on departmental holiday, for ordinary attendance in excess of forty-eight hours weekly. No person may draw any special allowance for doing any kind of work for xvhich he is paid as for xvork done in overtime. In lieu of payment for overtime it is optional xvith the Minister to allow an equivalent reduction of ordinary duty either immediately before or immediately after the overtime duty is performed, at the rate of an hour and a half for every hour of overtime worked on Sunday, and at the rate of an hour for an hour at all other times. Any officer performing telephone duty between midnight and 8 a.m. receives an extra payment of 10s. per week. Telephone exchange officers performing duty between 8 p.m. and midnight on Sunday are compensated by being alloxved time and a half off for the Sunday time worked. Now, gentlemen, let us compare the position on the Railways. Overtime payment, nil. Regulations provide that overtime allowances xvill not be paid to Railway