ACCIDENT-FREE RECORD

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30975, 3 February 1966, Page 14

ACCIDENT-FREE RECORD

The completion of half a million working hours without a losttime accident at the factory of the Knight Footwear Company, Ltd., was marked yesterday by the presentation of a cheque for £lOO to the company’s social club, which gave some of the money to the Save the Children Fund. The photograph shows the president of the New Zealand Save the Children Fund (Miss M. G. Havelaar) being handed a cheque by Mr E. G. Ashton, the longest-serving member of the factory staff. At the back are Mr G. R. Pearce, general manager of Knight Footwear’s parent company, Felt and Textiles of New Zealand, Ltd., who is holding the safety award plaque and Mr

D. G. R. Sutcliffe, manager of the footwear company. The presentation to the social club was made by Mr Pearce. It is the fourth cash award made to the factory under Felt and Textiles’ safety promotion scheme, which has been operating since March, 1964.

Knight Footwear holds the safety record for the New Zealand footwear industry and is one of only three factories in New Zealand which, according to the records of the National Safety Association, have worked for half a million hours free of lost-time accident. The others are the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Ltd., of Christchurch, and Kakariki Wools, Ltd., of Marton, which is another subsidiary of Felt and Textiles. When the factory staff received an award of £75 at the completion of 400,000 hours, half of this was used to sponsor a needy family in Korea through the Freedom

from Hunger Campaign, and part of the latest award was given to sponsor another family. A collection scheme has also been started among some members of the staff to provide a fund to continue the sponsorship of the families.

Miss Havelear, receiving the cheque from the factory’s social club, thanked the staff

for their interest in supporting the campaign. The field officer of the Canterbury branch of the National Safety Association (Mr R. Walker), also spoke at the presentation, congratulating the staff on their national record and emphasising the importance to both the staff and their dependants of a good safety record.