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WEATHER A12 > EDITORIAL B5 > TV B8 > PUZZLES A10 > WORLD B1 > BUSINESS C4 > SPORT C12 >WISE MEN TELL US TODAY’S WEATHER IS GOLD, THEY’RE NOT SURE ABOUT FRANKINCENSE BUT SAY THERE’S DEFINITELY MYRRH SUNSHINE TO COME

KiwiRailsends bigbossespackingBEN HEATHER

KIWIRAIL has quietly laid off many ofits most senior managers just beforeChristmas, as it tries to recover from ahorror year.

Acting chief executive David Walshconfirmed that up to 65 people were af-fected by a restructure that had beenunwinding since October, includingsenior engineers, administrative staffand middle and senior management.

The exact number of redundancieshad not yet been determined, as somecould be offered new jobs.

The cuts have not spared upper man-agement, with passenger train bossDeborah Hume, engineering and infra-structure boss Rick van Barneveld andInterislander boss Thomas Davis allleaving in the past two months aftertheir jobs were disestablished.

Walsh said the redundancies wereabout simplifying the various branchesof KiwiRail and bringing them togetherinto one unified organisation.

‘‘KiwiRail is working to improve theorganisation’s competitiveness and growits business and provide more frontlineservices.’’

Staff had been told about therestructure in October and some hadalready left. No public announcementabout the job losses was made at thetime, with KiwiRail only confirming theredundancies to The Dominion Post thisweek.

Rail and Maritime Union organiserTodd Valster said the state rail companywas going through a significant ‘‘trim’’under the direction of chief executive Pe-ter Reidy, who was appointed in March.

‘‘The new CEO wants one KiwiRail.He doesn’t want any silos.

‘‘But it’s a really bad time of the yearfor people to lose their jobs.’’

Only a handful of the staff affectedwere union members, but they were all

senior engineers with specialised skillswho would be difficult to replace.

The move would include some Wel-lington jobs moving to Auckland, butalso shifts in the other direction, he said.

KiwiRail has had a tough year, on therails and the water.

In August, the company reported aloss of $248 million for the year to June,with ongoing maintenance problemswith its Cook Strait ferries costing thecompany tens of millions.

In the latest in a string of disasters forthe Interislander division, the Aratereagain missed a departure this month be-cause of an electrical fault, leaving hun-dreds stranded for hours.

On land, KiwiRail also ran into diffi-culty, with the discovery of asbestos in40 of its new freight locomotives inMarch, forcing it to shed 20 per cent ofits fleet while the locomotives wereinspected and repaired.

Lifesaver:Girl saveschokinggrandma

Holding tight: Eleesha Silva, 11, hangs on tograndmother Erica Samarawira, 65. Eleeshasaved her from choking.

Photo: MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ

TESSA JOHNSTONE

I can do it, Iknow what todo.Eleesha Silva to her mother Gayanias her grandmother was chokingon her food

ELEESHA SILVA will keep a close eyeon her grandmother during Christmasdinner tomorrow – just in case she has tosave her life again.

The story of how the 11-year-old savedgrandmother Erica Samarawira fromchoking on her food, just weeks aftercompleting a first aid course at school, isquickly becoming family legend.

Eleesha, a pupil at Redwood School inTawa, was in her room when she heardsomething happening, and went down-stairs to find her grandmother chokingon rice, and her mother picking up thephone to call the ambulance.

Seeing what was happening, she toldmum Gayani Silva that she could help –her mum said no, but Eleesha insisted.

‘‘She didn’t want to take the chance,but I looked at her and said, ‘I can do it,I know what to do.’ So she let me.’’

Eleesha had completed a Red Crossfirst aid course at school and knew sheneeded to get her grandmother to bend atthe waist, hammer her between hershoulder blades and then give her chestthrusts, repeating the process until thefood was dislodged.

Although she felt a moment of self-doubt, she just did her best and itworked. ‘‘I felt relieved, it kind of feltlike I wasn’t breathing the whole timebecause I was so focused.’’

Once her grandmother had recovered,she hugged Eleesha so tightly it‘‘squeezed the air’’ out of her, Eleeshasaid.

Samarawira said she was prone tochoking, and in a different mishap endedup being taken to hospital by ambulance.

‘‘I can’t breathe and I can’t talk . . . allthe time when this happens I think I willdie.’’

The 65-year-old said she was proud ofEleesha and did not feel scared aboutchoking again, as long as Eleesha was byher side.

Eleesha’s dad, Pradeep Silva, said hismother-in-law told the story to everyonewho came to their home, and he waspretty proud of his daughter too.

‘‘She’s not an extrovert by anystretch, so for her to think on her feetand get into it showed a lot of confidence.

‘‘It showed us something we didn’tknow and that, when the time comes,she’s prepared to get on and get it done.’’

BAD RUN❚ November 2013: Interislander ferry

Aratere loses a propeller in Cook Strait,requiring it to be sent to Singapore formonths of repairs.

❚ March 2014: Forty freight trains pulledout of service after asbestos found inresin of one of the locomotives.

❚ April: Aratere’s replacement, StenaAlegra, is taken out of action after ithits Wellington wharf, causing a6-metre gash in its hull.

❚ May: A passenger train smashes into aconcrete barrier in Lower Hutt, withthe driver yelling, ‘‘I have no brakes’’.

❚ August: KiwiRail announces it hasmade a $248 million loss for the yearto June.

❚ October: KiwiRail tells staff that someof them, including senior management,could lose their jobs.

Merry Christmas to our readers and advertisersThe Dominion Post will not be publishedtomorrow, but we will be back on BoxingDay with a big edition packed with greatsummer reading.

A 16-page Best Bets will help you pickthe winners at the Boxing Day races andexpanded advertising of the Boxing Daysales will help you find the bargains.

We will also revisit the 2004 Boxing Daytsunami with extensive coverage and take alook back at our own 150 years.

There are also two terrific summercompetitions. Win one of five new SuzukiSplash cars and if you are a buddingphotographer show us your favouriteimages of summer and be in to winfabulous Canon cameras. We have morethan $5000 of gear in prizes.

Don’t forget that for breaking news as ithappens, go to dompost.co.nz.

From all of us at The Dominion Post, wewish you a safe and happy Christmas.