RAILWAYS. 
163 
or efficiency. It may, and in certain circumstances should, be met by 
the working of short time, the stoppage of recruiting, the operation of 
normal wastage or the retirement of staff taking their gratuity and pro- 
vident fund. It may be possible to arrange for the transfer of individuals 
bo other departments or other railways on similar or even reduced rates 
of pay. Reductions in staff as a rule affect more individuals than one 
and, where necessary, other things being equal, the principle of seniority 
should apply. Already on several railways registers are maintained of 
men discharged on reduction and transfers effected with other” depart- 
ments. We should like to see this practice universally adopted, but, 
in addition, we would emphasise the necessity of careful preparation in 
advance of programmes of maintenance and construction in order to 
ensure stability of employment as far as possible and so mitigate the 
hardships that reductions entail. In this connection we are informed 
that the Railway Board, in issuing the recently revised rules regulating 
the discharge and dismissal of state railway non-gazetted servants, 
recommended that any instance where it was proposed at one time 
to effect a comparatively large reduction of staff, say, 100 employees or 
more, the recognised trade union representing the interests of such em- 
ployees should be informed of the proposal as early as possible, with a 
general statement of the reasons for the intended reduction. 
Labour Turnover. : 
We have been supplied with figures of dismissals, of discharges 
ander reduction and otherwise, of labour turnover and of absenteeism 
on different railways and in different departments, but these have been 
compiled on so many different bases and the explanations given are so 
varied that we are not prepared to draw definite conclusions therefrom. 
We are satisfied, however, that in many departments of railway service 
the figures of discharges, turnover and absenteeism are higher than 
they should be in properly organised establishments, even after taking 
into account the special conditions obtaining in this country. A large 
proportion of railway workers, particularly the unskilled classes, are 
drawn from agriculture, and many of the gangmen and others return 
to such work, especially at sowing and harvesting times. Unauthorised 
absence amongst the lower grades appears to be a material factor in all 
the returns of labour turnover. We have already referred to the 
question of workmen overstaying authorised leave, and recommend 
that proper records should be kept to permit of a thorough examination 
of the whole problem with the object of improving the present posi- 
on. In cases where workers are employed temporarily, we are in favour 
of a record of their service being maintained, wherever practicable, 
With a view to their being given priority for permanent employment. 
Works Committees and Employment Officers. 
We have already referred to questions of discharges and dis- 
missals and of disciplinary action, and have dealt with the rights of 
ndividual workers to appeal in such matters to the district officer 
ind the head of the department concerned and, in certain cases, to the 
v2