Oct. 17.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2985

Regulations for Guidance of Officers in Telephone Exchanges.

ISLINGTON, Governor.

ORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the Government House, at Wellington, this seventh day of October, 1912.

Present:

His Excellency the Governor in Council.

WHEREAS by sections one hundred and thirty-three and one hundred and sixty of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908 (hereinafter termed “the said Act”), it is provided that the Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations for the management, working, and maintenance of any telephone and the conduct and employment of any officers or persons engaged in connection therewith, and also by section one hundred and ninety-seven of the said Act may make regulations prescribing the duties to be performed by officers of the Post and Telegraph Department in the several branches thereof, and the discipline to be generally observed in the performance of such duties:

Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the power and authority conferred upon him by the said Act, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, doth hereby make the regulations for the guidance and control of officers in telephone exchanges set forth in the Schedule hereto, and doth declare that those regulations shall have effect from the date of publication of this Order in Council in the New Zealand Gazette.

SCHEDULE.

REGULATIONS.

1. Control.—The staff engaged in the working of an exchange, including the men employed in maintenance-work, shall be under the control of the Chief Postmaster, the Officer in Charge, or the Postmaster, as the case may be, having charge of that exchange.

2. Senior Clerk.—The Senior Clerk at exchanges where such an officer has been appointed shall have delegated control, and will be held responsible for the efficient conduct of the business. He will have the right of entry to the exchange at all times, and will be expected to report any circumstance to his superior officer as may be necessary. Complaints from subscribers, save those of minor importance which it is customary for the female Supervisors to deal with direct with subscribers, must be passed on to the Senior Clerk, and be attended to by him personally and promptly. Reports from Supervisors will in the first instance be made to him, and be forwarded by him, with his own report, to the Chief Postmaster or the Officer in Charge.

3. Night Clerks.—The senior officer on duty at night will be held responsible for the proper supervision of the business. He shall see that no clerk leaves the exchange during his hours of duty; that attendance is punctual; that alert attention is given by every clerk; that the switchboard is patrolled from end to end at intervals of not longer than five minutes; that speaking signals are exchanged with corresponding exchanges hourly at even time, whether or not in the interval there has been any other communication. He is to leave for the day controlling officer reports on delays to business from whatever cause they may arise, and on every case of absence or misconduct on the part of his juniors. Failure in any of these respects will render him liable to fine or more severe penalty.

4. Supervisors.—Supervisors must pay close attention to the switchboard attendants’ positions (which at the larger exchanges it should be the rule to change every hour and keep a record of), see that calls are answered promptly, and that the business generally is conducted in a proper and efficient manner. They must assist in the work when the attendants experience any difficulty; report to the controlling officer interruptions and delays; see that keys, cords, and plugs are handled properly; that attendants assist each other when necessary as far as practicable; take note of numbers from which attention cannot be obtained, and report them; promptly report neglect of duty or other irregularity on the part of attendants.

5. Supervisors are not to take it upon themselves to punish their subordinates for breaches of duty otherwise than by calling attention to them. On no account may attendants be rebuked within the hearing of subscribers through the Supervisors’ tell-tale table.

6. Supervisors are expected to take a kindly interest in the cadettes under their charge, to exercise patience in training beginners, and at all times to remember that to obtain effective and loyal service it is better wisely to lead girls than to attempt to drive them.

7. The whole of the Supervisors’ time must be given during office hours to their official duties, and a good example thus be set to their subordinates.

8. Hours of Attendance.—The hours of attendance at exchanges shall be determined by the Secretary. No male clerk is to be allotted duty shorter than seven hours a day (Sundays excepted). At exchanges continuously open, the duty commencing at midnight is to continue till 8 a.m. The extra payment of 10s. per week is to be made only to clerks performing the last-named duty. Duty done between 8 p.m. and midnight on holidays is to be paid for as overtime, and between these hours on Sundays is to be compensated for by time and a half off. Leave of absence of fourteen days is to be given for every thirteen weeks of night duty (whether performed continuously for thirteen weeks or not) done by any clerk between 8 p.m. and midnight, and midnight and 8 a.m. respectively. In cases in which a telephone-exchange clerk is granted special quarterly leave, one-quarter of his

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