City Council’s work scheme to cost $1.16M

Press, 12 April 1978, Page 6

City Council’s work scheme to cost $1.16M

The Government’s new scheme for getting the unemployed into local-body work could cost the Christchurch City Council $270,262 in the first year, if it lasts that long, and the Government. $889,994.

A tentative programme involving 73 projects and 211 new employees was approved yesterday bv the council’s policy and finance committee. Projects will be for varying lengtns of time, but many are for a full year. Govern- ! ment approval will be given for three-month periods. There will be places for 146 unskilled workers, 27 tradesmen, 19 clerical employees and 19 professional persons. Most of the council’s costs are for plant and materials. The Town Clerk (Mr J. H. Gray) said the programme could be flexible, but there was a firm goal. Departments had worked fast to add positions in which workers could do jobs that would eventually have to be done anyway. The parks and recreation department could take 84 persons, and the City Engineer’s department could

take another 50. Other workers would go to the city administration department, library, health department, airport, and art gallery. Special work gangs would be avoided whenever possible, Mr Gray said, with workers fully integrated into the normal staff system. Temporary employees will mean an expansion of about 20 per cent in the city’s wage-earning staff . Mr Gray said the expansion had meant “a major administrative upheaval, in three departments, but it had been handled well. Examples of jobs to be done by special workers are painting and cleaning of carparks (4); building new play equipment at St Albans Park (2); replacement of stand seating at Queen Elizabeth II Park (6); building of walkways in various reserves (42); improvement of cemeteries (17); fencing of reserves (4); landscape planning (2); pest control (2); litter control (2); airport roof maintenance (1); waterworks main repairs and renewals (7): channel sweening (6); and land clearance (6).