OTIRA TUNNEL.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15989, 25 August 1917, Page 14

OTIRA TUNNEL.

: COMPLAINTS ABOUT VF.NTILA- j TION. j (sriCIAL TO "THE TRZSS.") i WELLINGTON.. August 21. Cor/.-'bints resarding tho ventilation ot' tho CHi:a luruiel were referred to in. . : the Houee oi" Representatives this arterj uoou !\y Mr P. C. Wobb, when he asked j i the Minister of Public Works to ari ran?: Tor tho thorough inspection of I -he tunnel by the Inspector of Mines, m : conjunction with. an inspector appointed jbv tho workers. Mr Webb said ho hnu. ' iu-i rwoivod communications from two 0 i * t hi: workers employed at tho tunnel) I complaining that the. conditions were j bad, fumes :ind smoke and bad vcntilaI tion playing up with the men s j He asked tho .Minister if ho would put I ilio workers on a six hour day if it were | found that tho ventilation was bad. ! The Hon. W. Frasor. in reply., saicl : he was constantly receiving reports on | tho tunnel, and thosr> report? were dm- ! metrically opposed to what Mr \\ obb ! said. . „ i .AH- Wobb: "What about, an inspector. | Mr Frasor said lie -was not going» to | have, an outside inspector doing _ his I work. Tie would have full enquiries ! made, and he would see that, everything ' was dono in order to havo the yontlin- | lion kept as dear as possible. It nas 1 impossible to keep tho tunnel as clear !ns the fresh air outside. If it should i be nroved that the state of the ventila- ! tion was such that a man could not- ! stand more than six hour* ill it. be i (Mr Fraf-er) would certainly agree to I that, limitation of hours, bub be wanted to have that proved. The last year or two there had been a constant agitation to secure a six hours' day at the tunnel, at eight hours' pay. # \\ believer men were working in certain, places they received eight hours' pay for six hours.' work, but the whole of the men. whether working dry or wet, wanted the same thing, and lie was not going to aive it. Tho Otira. tunnel work, Mr Frapor pointed out. was nob altogether the most popular in "Now Zea)"inc|—fhear, hear)—and if tho member for Grey wanted to impose conditions which would prevent him from carrying out the work properly, ifc might moan that he would have to stop the work. (Hear, hear.)