Item No. 1.

Under Piecework the actual “time required”—that is, the neat time of a good average man—is found, and 20 per cent. is then added for bonus—which under the Piecework system the operator always gets, irrespective of quantity. He gets it all. If the rate is set wrong, by bad judgment, poor guess or otherwise, the earnings of the operators go up at such a quick rate that “rate cutting” develops, and there is the trouble.

Under Premium the time required is found as outlined and 40 per cent. is added, which, when divided fifty-fifty, means that the operator actually gets 20 per cent. as a bonus in money.

This is, therefore, the same as Piecework, it being conceded that a man working on any output system at a proper rate is entitled to earn at least 20 per cent. over his wages. Get this right—Double the percentage, compared with Piecework, is added and the final bonus is halved. There is a sound reason for this, although it does “bust” the idea of many who think the Railway is taking half the profits, which it does not.