MOTOR MECHANICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 39, 15 February 1930, Page 7

MOTOR MECHANICS.

CERTIFICATION BY AAA.

SCHEME CRITICISED,

DECLARED "OPEN TO ABUSE."

Strong criticism of a proposal by the Auckland Automobile Association to : introduce a system by which members, 011 placing their cars in garages for repairs, will receive the attention of mechanics certified by the association as competent to carry out the work, is made by Mr. R. F. Barter, secretary of the Amalgamated Engineers' Union. It is held by Mr. Barter that the association's proposal, which provides for a theoretical and practical examination of motor mechanics for certificates of competency is not a solution to the difficulty of ensuring that trained men will do repair work. "For twelve months," Mr. Barter said this , morning, "both the Motor Traders' Associations and the Engineers' Union have been fighting for the registration of all mechanics, and not merely of an individual in each The Automobile Association intends that a garage employing one of these certified men shall be entitled to display a sign giving indication to members of the association that their workmen have been approved by the association. Under such circumstances, the certified man might be the employer, and have as many as 20 young men working for him; and those young pien would do the work:

Apprenticeship Difficulty. "The union's trouble is that while employers within a .20-mile radius of the 'city must train apprentices to the work, outside that area an employer can keep a boy for five years and turn him out, saying that he is a journeyman. As secretary of the Apprenticeship Committee ' (which ' consists of three _ employers and three union representatives), I contend that until the committee has full power to. bar employrs from taking boys on under the pretence of training them as apprentices, trouble is bound to occur. While I agree with the Automobile Association's sentiment, I contend that the system,of having one certified man in an establishment is open to abuse." Mr; Barter has communica-ted with the association suggesting that, if it is earnest, a conference of representatives of the A.A.A., the Motor Traders' Association and the Engineers' Union, should be called. He has suggested that 'the Secretaries of the three organisations (Mr. d. W. Hutchison, of the A.A.A., Mr. J. F. Cousins, of the Motor Traders' Association, who will be in Auckland on February 24, and himself), should meet tov discuss the matter, with the hope of arranging a conference whose findings would benefit both the motoring public and the industry.

"May Cause Friction;" "While tlie association might 1 think it is doing something which will be beneficial to its members, such an action may cause friction among the, men most concerned," declared Mr. Barter. "At present there are special classes at the Seddon Memorial Technical College for apprentices. At great expense to the Motor Traders' Association, a syllabus has been drawn up for the students to follow,' and' iwo examinations are held. Successful candidates are given certificates of competency. During my tours from, the North Cape to the Bluff I have frequently found taxi and truck drivers who, with .a slight smattering of the trade, have secured work in garages. They have classed themselves as mechanics and have sometimes been able to carry on with what knowledge they have been able to pick up concerning the mechanism of a car. The Motor Traders' Association and the Engineers' Union are both fighting, and have been doing so for a long, time, for registration of men on the same lines as plumbers and electricians.' Our opinion is that when a car is* garaged for repair and the work is "O.lv'd" by the foreman, the owner is entitled to expect that it is in perfect running condition. Once it is on the road, any defects in the mechanism or the braking system are a danger not only to the driver but to the public in general. ■ The ehgineers' organisation stands for '"qualified men on repair work." ' "It, is interesting to recall/' said Mr. Barter, "that while the union had advocated the employment of only served apprentices and qualified men, the arbitration system nullifies this by Mr. Jus- 1 tice Stringer's decision on an application by the" union. His Honor stated that it was no concern of - the union •whether a. man served his apprenticeship 6r not. The union's duty was'to see that the men were paid award wages; and if the employer engaged inferior workmen "it was his funeral, not the union's." •