COUNTY WORKMEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 19, 30 October 1945, Page 4

COUNTY WORKMEN

Sir — like many other County workers strongly resent the unfair attack made on us by the Whaikatane County Councillors, surely if they want results harmony is what is needed. They are not likely to get results by belittling their staff through the press. It is the first time I have ever heard of suchi a procedure! Surely the right thing to do yould be to instruct the Engineer and his assistants to correct

the position if there are any grounds lor thase charges which by the way t flatly deny. I see one Councillor: says these things have been going on for years } if so why have they not been corrected long ago? Another says the men have been consistently putting in double thne. Well I am afraid the rank and lile have not been getting much doable time. About a year* ago our roads got badly damaged by floods the men turned, out at weekends; worked all kinds of hours to get them open for traffic again; worked 'in the rain in mud and slush very often wet footed in rotten conditions. Imagine their disappointment when they got their pay tbey found the emergency regulations had been applied with just the ordinary rates of hourly payj no double time whatever. When the Government granted us a rise of per hour and advised Local Bodies to pay out from the first of April to avoid retrospective payment the Council held on to our money hoping ? I that some miracle would happen so that they might avoid payment in some w a y„ yet they never gave the men any payment for the use of that money for those months.

[ It is remarkable that we heard na complaints until we had to get our rise in wages and I am afraid that 3V 2 d rise, must have hurt. I wonder if this Council ever stopped to think of how many of these men worked right through the war years for £5 2s lOd per week while mere boys earned from £8 to £10 and sometimes £12 per week in the c:ties-. Not one word of appreciation, no just plain abuse. Well seeing that the Councillors have openly attacked the men I would like to say right here I ihink it is time we had a change of fouricillors. All we get from some of them is all the money spent and nothing done, and forty-seven years ago what we used to do. I would like to advise the County employees to keep a close watch on their rights; hold a stopwork meeting now and again ? and invite a good tough Union Secretary down from Auckland to look after their rights and see that they get them. Yours etc^ DAVID SMITH t> Matata.