COUNTY COUNCIL

Hokitika Guardian, 2 July 1930, Page 3

COUNTY COUNCIL

RETRENCHES

ißy Telegraph—Press Association)

NEW PLYMOUTH, July 1

A need to relieve the ratepayers ol the burden of rates prompted the Jiigicwood c ounty Council to-day to reduce its p'erniaiient staff from twentyseven men: to twelve .Ou instr-uclions, be Engineer submitt-.d a report recoiiiineiidiug tlie complete reorgaiusng of the staff, and a diastie r*due ion in plant. He stated lie could do ill tho necessary work ; with a reorganised plant- and less .stall. Fifteen men are to be given a -week's notice, lint they are to be employed as casuals as much as poss ble. Tlie Government is to be approached for a subsidy to assist.

TEI iEG R A Pll E M PL() Y E ES,

CHRISTCHUTICII, July 1

A considerable number of single men engaged on telegraphic and telephonic construction work "here have received notice. Since the cutover to the automatic 'telephone exchange iii Christchurch" the Department lias been unable to keep'all its employees'hi work and transfer of a 'considerable number of men to’work, outside the City resulted in the rapid completion ol voveral of tbe . nmlcrtaldugs.. and -the Department is now,nearing the end of its resources in finding employment,for 'hose still retained. . Most of the - Christchurch business fr. ns have now installed inter-tele-nbone systems, and one of the concerns is using a small nPR.ee e v - Ginnge. T'ds is the first of the kind •-o be utilised, hut between 20 and 3° are on order. * The apparatus is fairlv costly, and the outkiv necessary for each installation must be estimated senarntelv. Practically all aonnt«M work is now a i,rf-ped oxecr-.f for ordinary mainten--fince and connection of new suhsevihers to r-x’st-iiu' exebnimcs. ti.c Canfer I 'n> , v di«tr ; ct has received a coed overhaul in the h>st three or <V.iv years. cr>d nethinc- in til" nature ..(• ~ l.:k nnrle.-fa’-lne- is mnv in tipht: \ heavy >ncrease in tpll calls hev.veen rhrisichurcli and Greymouth has necessitated the introduction of the carrier system. Tim terminal lias been •n- lal'ed at Christchurch, puff work lW in nrogress n n this r>"vt of the nev\ r nanarntus at Greymo”th Within a fortnight .the new system ; should ho in vox kin rr V'. a Vow few single men . are now eiri--loved on ln ’in+c’-'anep in the cn-c-:,mers’ branch of the Railway Denart,niept. Prac'icaily all the men in the line gangs arc married?Formerfv some single men werejjheinclpcl;.- ; and moist of them lived iuliiuts placed f.Tniigsid<' the permanent.’’way, but;, nearly, all of these have now disappeared. ' Tn a list of 24■'•men''who had been engaged for casual work-at Addington °nd Middleton, only one was single.