STATE CONTRACTS

Hokitika Guardian, 5 June 1920, Page 4

STATE CONTRACTS

GETTING WORK DONE. WELLING ON, June 1

In a few days ago a report was published of a protest by a meeting of State miners against the adoption of the system of private contracting in connection with the construction of Go. vernment railways. The Minister of Public Works, (the Hon. J. (Jr, Coates), when spoken to on the matter, said the Public Works Department wished to adopt a system which would offer an incentive to get work done and out of the way. The system which it was proposed to adopt was an ordinary contract so far as the Department was concerned, but he had been approached by a number of experienced men who have been for some time employees of the Public WorksDepartment, with the suggestion that they should take the contract in cooperation. They would elect their managers, and would enter into a bond in

the usual way. To meet them in the matter of finance, the Department would endeavour to assist in finding material. In every other way the system would he that of ordinary contracting. The men. would tender for the whole job, and would share the contractor’s profit. This was different from the present co-operative system, where the men worked for a period on a job which had been valued by the engineers at a. certain rate. The present proposal was to give outf'the whole job, and offer an incentive to get the work done, which was what the Department wanted.