CLAIM FOR WET WEATHER

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 61, 10 September 1945, Page 4

CLAIM FOR WET WEATHER

PAY

PA GREYMOUTH, Sept, 9. The Westland Timber Workers' Union at a meeting on Saturday, at which 300 were present, decided to cease operations till a clause is finalised providing extra payment throughout the year for work done in wet weather. About 1000 men are affected. cats, and snails, in which brisk trading was traditional. The ability of the Now Zealand soldier to scrounge led to countless instances of successful hoodwinking of the Japanese and gave the men the greatest satisfaction. WORKED TILL THEY DROPPED. Most of the work at Changi consisted of building a large airfield alongside the camp, where the only means of transport for the soil were the chassis of three-ton lorries, which required 30 men to drag. The guards kept men at this work till they dropped. Some of the guards were reasonable, but others were delighted to knock men about. "But the hardest thing," said one New Zealander, "was taking a slap on the face. You had to stand and take it, but it was hard to do when you could feel your ear swelling and could have killed most of the guards with one good smack. Those few who tried it paid for it by starvation and, usually, death." After Japan's surrender the whole attitude of the Japanese changed. Food was issued liberally and Red Cross parcels which had accumulated for three years were handed out. More parcels were distributed in the three weeks after surrender than during the whole of the previous three years. The extra food has put the men in good heart. The average gain in weight by the New Zealanders has been 121b in a fortnight, but some had lost several stone.