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Greymouth Evening Star, 9 April 1937, Page 5

The question whether employees of the Whangarei Borough Council should be allowed time for “smokos” was discussed at a special meeting of the council on Monday. Fifteen employees who were engaged on sewerage work in Rust Lane were dismissed by the engineer, Mr. 11. W. Cormack, last Wednesday, when, against his orders. they persisted in taking lime off before lunch for a "smoko." The men affected sought the council’s decision and the work in Rust Lane was temporarily sus pended. The Mayor, Mr. W. Jones, moved that the council should not grant the right to its em-| ployees to have time off for smoking! while engaged on borough work, and that the men who had been dismissed! ■b.ould bo reinstated. It. was also] moved that no organised "smokos”j .-hcttld be observed unless the time oc- < tip'ed war. made up. Mr. R. S. Finch, chai:man of the work’s committee, in sccondtn,'-,' the motion, said the men already had a 40-hour week, and this emcossion would mean a reduction of nearly another hour a week. The I.)( ~uty Mayor, Mr. C. 11. Morrish, said that, in view of the conditions under which men were working on the sew- < rage job he could not vote against, their having a short spell. The motion was carried by seven votes to three.