LOYAL AND EFFICIENT

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 72, 25 March 1926, Page 4

LOYAL AND EFFICIENT

HARBOUR BOARD'S STAFF "MEN OF SPLENDID CALIBRE." Appreciatory references to the efficient: and-loyal service of the staff and all engaged.in the work of the board wei-e made by members at last night's annual meeting of the Harbour Board. Mr. M. Cohen, the chairman, said that" no-words' would -be, sufficiently adequate to express'■ tiie board's sense of its recognition of tho - able manner, in which its affairs were administered by ■its' principal executive officers. Tho board-might indeed feel'proud in having' around it' men of such Splendid calibre and enthusiasm.: A review of the return of the men comprising/the permanent staff, showipg their ages and: length of service to the board, also" gave one a thrill of pride and satisfaction. It wtis abundantly evident that the major number of tho permanent' employees had spent the greater part* of' their lives in the board's service. That connoted two important factors: the one was that the'men referred" to: must be efficient,. conscientious, and loyal, or they would not have been retained in the board's service. On the' other hand, if the conditions of theirl employment were: not' agreeable or satisfactory to'them, it was: obvious that' they would-have sought other spheres of activity. The'- board was always anxious, wherever possible, to improve their lot; and it-would bo fresh in the memory of members that only recently the board was able to make a more I reasonable provision for the dependants of! those men than had formerly existed. Mr. T. Moss supported the remarks of the chairman. It was evident, he said, that* the' officers- were anxious to promote the development of the port. Comment was made' by Mr. C. H. Chapman on what he thought was now the policy of the: board^ namely,, to reduce the sizo of its permanent staff. He regretted that this was being done. The number had dropped from: 203 in 1923 to 178 in 1925. Last year the mvmber was: 175,- That was- not a sound policy, and he did not think it wise that- the" size' of- the permanent staff should be reduced. Good work had been done by the heads of the departments and by the men who did the hard, rough, manual work. Other members of the board also paid tributes to the work of the ■ employees.