RATES OF PAY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 137, 6 December 1929, Page 9

RATES OF PAY

ON EELIEF WORKS

THE BONUS SYSTEM

Councillor C. 11. Chapman at last evening's meeting of the City Council made a protest against the reduction of rates of pay to Corporation workers on certain jobs to the Is 9d paid on relief works.

The council, he said, had taken advantage of prevailing unemployment in order to reduce the wages of the men on various works, not only works which wero officially termed "relief works." Several cases had been brought to his notice in which men regularly employed by the council had been shifted to other [jobs and their places filled by men at the relief rates of wages. In one case two men were engaged tunnelling a drive in Chaytor street. This tunnel was over 300 feet long and was almost concluded in five weeks, this being practically a record for this kind of work, when the nature of the job itself was considered. As soon as the skilled work was done inside the tunnel, their wages were immediately reduced 4d per hour, and later they were shifted and their places taken by relief workers at Is 9d per hour, this being a reduction of 6d per hour. In connection with the same job, men who had bee.', working as relief workers were shifted and placed with a gang doing kerbing and channelling work. The relief men were doing the same work as the ordinary workman, yet they were made to do it at Is 9d per hour, whilst the men beside them were getting the ordinary rates of wages. When one of the men complained he was dismissed, and the next day the gang he was associated with was also dismissed.

On the main road to Wadestown, a job which had been carried out satisfactorily and well, the men engaged on it had been paid the award rates of wages, yet without any reason whatsoever, they had been termed "relief workers" and. their wages in consequence have beea reduced 2d per hour.

A most glaring case of injustice, con-

tinued Councillor Chapman, was evident in the work on the approaches to

the eastern access tunnel. The men, were selected from other relief jobs, because of their ability in order to rush, this work through, because the council was under a penalty to have the -woTk completed by a specified time.- 'lii order to do this the council had selected the men, and so had reduced the output: on the jobs from which these good workers had ben taken, and when a request was made to' pay the men the award rate of wages, it was refused because it was stated that such -ia" request if granted to the men at Patersoa street would mean that all other, relief workers would also want it,- and this could not be given because the workers on other jobs were not giving an adequate return—so it was alleged—for the money expended.

The Mayor replied that as Councillor Chapman had suid, it was necessary to' carry the Paterson street work through by a specified date, and therefore the best of the men on other relief -works had been selected to cary the work through; they were relief workers, not members of the council-staff. Naturally that had had the effect" of decreasing the output per man on other works; but the relief works had to be taken as a whole. :

WRONG SYSTEM ADOPTED.

Councillor Semple said that ho was satisfied that the system the council had adopted upon its relief works was entirely wrong. It gave no incentive whatever to a man to give of his best, but were the co-operative system adopted the council would gain considerably and the . honest workman, would make more money. At present a man who could make more was not allowed to make more. The council had no right to take advantage of economic circumstances to force men

to carry out legitimate city works.at reduced rates.of pay. The Mayor remarked that the council would not have been able to undertake

the works except as relief works. He was quire aware that it would, bera good thing if the council could; intro?duce some systemj such as a bonui system, for additional yards taken out.' That had been done on the eastern approach to the Mount Victoria tunnel and would be applied also to the Syd[ney street cut.

Councillor M'Keen said that many .of the men were first-class workers who should be given full rates. As it was, they were working alongside men whtf were incapable of doing half the work the good men .did, and it was simply breaking their spirit. : - r

Councillor Mitchell said that "he thought the bonus system could verjr well be applied to all relief works. . '