THE EDGE OF LIFE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1803, 16 July 1913, Page 9

THE EDGE OF LIFE.

_fr FOR CITY WORKERS. TALK OF A PENSION SCHEME. ,At last night's special meeting of tho Wellington City Council it was resolved, ou tho motion of Councillor If. Fletcher: "That it is desirable • that a scheme of superannuation for tho employees of tho corporation should be established on. the lines of ths Local Authorities Superannuation Act, 1008, and Amendments, 1912, and that with this end in new the council hereby resolves to obtain, as sopn as. possible, an actuarial report on the whole .question, showing what respective contribution's from the corporation and tho i employees are necessary to afford reasonable benefits to the contributors as well as to mako the scheme financially sound." . The mover said that he was at present merely asking for a report which would cost or .£3O, and was not attempting to commit the council to any scheme. ' Councillor J. Fuller opposed the motion for the reason that He thought that money would be better spent in explaining tho Nutional Provident Fund to the corporation employees. Superannuation was unsound in principle. Councillor A. It. Atkinson said that the primary question to discuss was whether the council was justified, in the present state of tho finances, in spending tho ratepayers' money on any schemo of the kind. If it was decided that a schemo should be undertaken, then a report could be obtained. He described the motion as "a shuffle," which asked that an actuary should do something totally outside his province. Councillor A. H. Hindmarsh said that it seemed to him that something in tho way. of pensions for employees/must bo introduced. The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) said that tho sooner some kind of pension scheme wa.s introduced the better, whether it was a Klf-contained schemo or one incorporated with that of other local bodies, or part of a national scheme. One of the saddest things in the experience of city councillors v;as to see men who had served tho corporation well for (say) 30 years, unable to work any longer, and having struggled all their lives to bring up a family, forced to throw themselves upon tho world or come cap in hand to tho council, A councillor: How do you provide for employees in your business? The Mayor: Everyone in our business is as much concerned as ws are to mako it a success. Councillor G. Frost: What fund will this como out of? The Mayor: The district fund. Councillor Frost: Then what streets will havo to go unformed? There is only enough on the estimates to cover tho gjjrggts. ' The motion was carried by- 13 votes to 3 Tho thrco opponents ot tho motion were Councillors Atkinson, Frost, and It was then decided that Mr. M. Fox, Government. Actuary, should be asked to mako tho report. It was stated that Mr. Fox had already stated that tlio cost would be J230. ,