ANNIVERSARY DAY WORK

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 104, 27 January 1943, Page 6

ANNIVERSARY DAY WORK

Discussion By Harbour

Board

‘■The whole thing was ridiculous,” said Mr. M. A. Eliott, when the chairman of the 'Wellington Harbour Board, Mr. W. H. Price, asked for the board’s formal endorsement of the action he had taken, after consulting a majority of members, in declaring the board s facilities closed for the day. Mi. Eliott said he had agreed by telegram with the course taken, but at the same time he felt it was absurd that the circumstances making it necessary should have arisen. The chairman, in seeking, the endorsement, said that the decision of retailers despite the Government’s ruling, to close had made it necessary. At the double rates of pay enforced by the Government’s decision, it would have cost the board more than £lOOO in wages, and deliveries could not have been carried out. Mr J. O. Johnson said it wasn t the Government’s fault. He . thought the board should carry a motion deprecating the action of certain firms in deciding to close. Mr. J. W. Andrews: Didn’t someone say the men must work, but that they must be paid double wages? in reply to a question, the chief executive officer said flint a certain amount of delivery work was carried out.

Mr. W. J. Blyth said that the transport firms had worked in response to an order of the committee concerned with the removal of goods, but that many of the consignees were not open to receive the goods. The motion approving the chniriniin’s action was carried.