N.Z. SUPPLY OF TELEPHONES

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26055, 7 March 1950, Page 6

N.Z. SUPPLY OF TELEPHONES

MINISTER OUTLINES DIFFICULTIES

SHORTAGE OF STAFF NOW A PROBLEM

(New Zealand Press Association) . WELLINGTON, March 6. *

“I cannot give any definite date by which we could say with any certainty that telephone waiting lists will be finished with,” said the PostmasterGeneral (Mr W. J. Broadfoot) to-day, in a survey of the Dominion-wide telephone supply position. “But I have satisfied myself that the Post Office is doing everything possible to meet the unprecedented demand after, an unavoidable war-time standstill.” Since he had been in office, said the Minister, he had looked closely into the position throughout New Zealand The telephone problem arose out of a period during the war when development or extension work on any scale could not be carried out.' That meant that when the war ended there was no reserve of .equipment to meet even the normal demand, let alone the phenomenal demands which had com* since the end of the war.

The core of the problem had now shifted from awaiting manufacture and delivery to the difficulty of find ing sufficient skilled staff and finding and training unskilled staff to supplement the present installation and reticulation forces.

“To meet the staff difficulty we are endeavouring to recruit men and give them special courses of training to enable them to assist in the installation programmes.” said Mr Broadfoot. “The overall need is for an additional 400 or 500 men. The job is permanent, because the very big expansions going on will, after the construction programme is oompleted, demand big increases in our maintenance staff.”

To help provide skilled men, and as equipment for centres became available for installation, it was proposed temporarily to reduce the technical maintenance staff throughout the country to a skeleton minimum, and concentrate every skilled marf possible on the particular construction project in hand.

That would mean ’ bringing men from all over the country. By. these means it was hoped to step up the installation rate, but the additional 400 or 500 men would be necessary as well if quick results were to be obtained. As soon as it was clear that the war was about to end the Post Office sent two engineers overseas to report on the equipment position pnd find out whether New Zealand could get British equipment quickly. The Post Office decided, with Government approval, to begin to standardise on the use of British “step by step” equipment throughout New Zealand. That decision was consolidated in an agreement negotiated with the five British telephone manufacturers. The agreement, which was due to expire this year, had just been examined by Cabinet and renewed on a continuing basis. New British equipment ordered under the agreement since 1945 amounted-to £5.000,000. said Mr Broadfoot. Equipment to the value of £2,250,000 had been received to date. Of that amount a portion was represented in three large automatic exchanges—New Plymouth, Lower Hutt, and Nelson—in 12 rural automatic exchanges, in 42 manual exchanges and in telephone instruments to the value of more than £1.000.000.

The cable position was improving, but with poles there were still diffities.

Buildings were an essential factor in a construction programme like that facing the telephone staff.

“At the moment we have on our works programme buildings for some 30 major automatic exchanges,” Mr Broadfoot said. “Five are at present under construction, and tenders are just being called, or about to be called, for seven others.”