AMALGAMATIONS WITH CITY

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24900, 13 June 1946, Page 3

AMALGAMATIONS WITH CITY

REPLY TO MAYOR OF CHRISTCHURCH

COMMENT BY LYTTELTON COUNCILLOR

“It is all very well for the Mayor of Chirstcnurch to tell us now, atter the amalgamation proposal has been defeated, that the Christchurch City Council would have retained all the staff of the Lyttelton Borough Council had the proposal been carried,” said Cr. F. H. Heal, Deputy-Mayor of Lyttelton, yesterday, referring to the statement made by Mr Andrews in “The Press” yesterday, “but it was on exactly that point that we were unable to get any assurance.” Mr Andrews had replied to a statement m&de by Cr. Heal at the meeting, of the Borough Council on Monday night in connexion with the appointment of Mr W. T. Lindsay as a councillor, in which Cr. Heal asked how the staff would feel about working with Mr Lindsay, who led the amalgamation movement which would have “put them out of their jobs.” Cr. Heal said that when the DeputyMayor of Christchurch (Cr. M. E. Lyons) had addressed a public meeting at Lyttelton called to support amalgamation he had declined, when asked the question, to give an assurance that the council staff would be kept on, although he had said that after the other amalgamations most, or all, of the staffs had been retained. The question had also been addressed to the Christchurch City Council by letter from the Lyttelton Council. In his reply, dated February 6, the Town Clerk of Christchurch (Mr H. S. Feast) stated: “With further reference to your letter of the 22nd ultimo regarding the position of the Lyttelton Borough Council’s staff in the event of the amalgamation of the borough with the city. I am directed by the by-laws committee of the council to inform you that this council cannot pledge itself at this stage. I am to suggest, however. that it is probable that _ there would be no departure from oolicy In the past when local bodies have amalgamated with this city this council has taken over the staffs without prejudice to their existing salaries and wages.’ “There you have it.” said Cr. Heal. “Mr Andrews now says it is the set policy of his council and would have been followed had Lyttelton ioined the city Why then, could not his council have given us a definite assurance on the point?”