ACCOMMODATION FOR MEN

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 18

ACCOMMODATION FOR MEN

Hostel Additions Planned

To provide for increases in its grubbing gangs, the North Canterbury Nassella Tussock Board is to build additions at its Waipara hostel to accommodate seven more men in the current financial year, and is to investigate building a hostel tor 12 men at Cheviot next year. At present the board has accommodation for 14 men at the Waiau hostel, seven at each of the Glenbourne, Scargill, and Cheviot camps, which are in rented houses. 10 in the Waipara hostel, and 14 at the Balmoral forestry camp. This is a total of 59 beds, excluding those for cooks.

“To set the ball rolling, I would suggest one more gang at Waiau, two more at Scargill-Motunau, one at Waipara, and one at Balmoral,” said the chairman (Mr T. G. Maxwell). “I would propose we increase the grubbing staff to at least 100 men.”

The board’s chief inspector (Mr W. C. Kay) estimated that about 90 men would be required to do all the work offering. This was over the period from March to early October.

To obtain that figure, he had estimated that there w.ere 2394 man-weeks of grubbing to be done at six hours’ grubbing per acre, Mr Kay said. Members asked whether, in view of the “acute” scarcity of labour, it would be possible to obtain the increased number of men.

Mr Maxwell said that as the freezing works closed each year there were men looking for work but as soon as the works opened and other seasonal work was offering, the men drifted away and the board could not get replacements.

This year the grubbing gangs have been understaffed generally and there has been a big turnover of staff. At previous meetings board members have emphasised the need for attracting a more suitable type of labour, and men who would stay in the gangs longer.

The board’s two hostels at Waipara and Waiau were built with the Intention of providing a better standard of accommodation, so that a more stable labour force could be obtained. As a result, the two hostels have been relatively well staffed during the year, and the main problem has been with the outlying camps. As well as the Walpara additions and the hostel at Cheviot, the board also discussed the possibility of building a hostel at Motunau.