Increased Wages For Many City Carpenters

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30193, 26 July 1963, Page 10

Increased Wages For Many City Carpenters

Three major construction compares in Christchurch yesterday agreed to pay 8s an hour to their carpenters, said the secretary of the Canterbury Carpenters’ Union (Mr F. L Langley) yesterday.

The companies were John Calder, Ltd., Wilkins and Davies, Ltd., and the Fletcher Construction Company, Ltd. John Calder, Ltd., would thus pay 6d an hour more, Wilkins and Davies, Ltd., 4d, and the Fletcher Construction Company, Ltd., sd.

“It will net the men who have been ‘locked out’ from toe St. Helens Hospital job a weekly increase of £1 3s 9d on the hours of working,” said Mr Langley.

The St. Helens Hospital contract is held by John Calder. Ltd.

Work would resume on toe St. Helens job today, said Mr Langley, because a settlement was reached yesterday between the contractor and the Canterbury Carpenters' Union. The 25 carpenters involved in the St Helens dispute agreed to accept the terms of the settlement at a meeting in the Trades Hall yesterday morning. The new hourly rate for carpenters would be paid on at least 13 major construction jobs in the Christchurch district, said Mr Langley, These included Fletcher Construction Company jobs at the Burwood Hospital, the Linwood telephone exchange, the Addington telephone exchange, the Canterbury Uni-

versity block at Ham, Burnham Military Camp, Amuri Motors in Cambridge terrace, the Horticultural Society's building in Cambridge terrace, a job at Waltham and about eight cottage jobs. They also included Wilkins and Davies job of a new hotel at Wooldridge road and a bridge over the Heathcote river, and Calder’a jobs at the Canterbury University block, the St. Helena Hospital annex, and the Christchurch - Lyttelton tunnel administration block.

The president of the Canterbury Master Builders’ Association (Mr W. H. Smith) yesterday said that because arrangements had been made to resume work, the association had withdrawn its ban on overtime and the engagement of labour. Overtime on some construction jobs, such as the Addington trotting ground grandstand, was expected to commence again immedi-

wtely. said a carpenters* union official, ’"niey're definitely working a 45-hour week already,” he said. Mr Langley said that employers would meet union represented ves to reconsider wage rates and fringe benefits when the new award was due. Mr Langley said that the anomaly at mtfoyit* carpenters as labourers hkd also been adjusted. The employers had agreed to avoid employing carpenters as labourers when sufficient labourers were available Thu would also apply to other building contractors in the The question of the new award is expected to be considered at next week's meeting at the Canterbury Master Builders’ Association Mr Langley said the employers had also agreed to consider payments for travelling time, and to pay an additional £1 a week to men employed in the city, in lieu of travelling time.