SKILLED MEN.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 124, 7 March 1941, Page 8

SKILLED MEN.

RETENTION IN WORKSHOPS RECOMMENDATION TO CABINET (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Alarch 6. A ( recommendation that sjkilled workers should not be permitted to leave their employment at the railway workshops during the war is to ho made to the Government by the No. 1 Armed Forces Appeal Board. During the hearing of appeals on behalf of five railway employees, Air J. B. Graham, manager of the Otalnihu workshops, said that some were engaged on munition work. The, workshops staff had shrunk from 1800 to 1400 since the war began, in part due to the Government’s call for. the special railway •battalion. All members of the mechanised staff called in the ballots would he appealed for. There was difficulty in retaining the staffs as skilled men: wanted to go to private work, attracted by a little extra pay an hour. IParsonally, the witness thought that departmental pay and conditions were better than those outside in the long run. The fact that there was no lost time compensated for the slightly lowier departmental hourly rate. If they had the necessary men the workshops could operate three shifts, instead of two. The chairman (Mr C. R . Orr AValkor. S.At.) said he thought the board might be justified in recommending that the mechanics be not permitted to leave the service, while the war was on. The five appeals wore adjourned sine die, conditional on the men remaining in the department’s service.