Correspondence

Hutt News, Volume 16, Issue 7, 15 July 1942, Page 5

Correspondence

I<:.\UTIIOU \KK I>AM.KJJK An open letter to His Worship the Mayor of Lower ISuti Dear Sir, J have been a builder and contractor in Lower Hull for many years past and am advised of the method of co-opting labour and costing jobs for the repair of the damage incurred by tiiose unfortunates who suffered through the earthquake. 1 am, 1 believe, reliably advised 'that the following is the method of carrying out and costing the work: (a) Whereas numerous small contractors received particulars of jobs which they were asked to repair they were not permitted to carry out the work. (b) The Government Housing Department in co-operation with the Lower Hutt City Council, commandeered the labour of all such small contractors " and their employees and insisted that they work under the control of the Hutt Valley Builders Construction Co. Ltd. (c) All necessary materials were also commandeered. •' ' (d) The method of costing is by the following additions: (1) The 11.V.8. Construction Co. pays the wages of bricklayers "J/7, labourers :i /1, carpenters 3/6 per Jiour, plus lid per hr. holiday pay. (2) They add 5d per hour to each class of tradesmen (to cover their overhead). (U) They add- the cost of lid per hour per employee seaH'olding hire. (4) Lorry hire is charged at the rate of (i/- per hour. (5) The cost of materials. (li) 10% is added to the total cost of all items numbered 1 to 5, as a further proiit to the Hutt Valley Builders Construction Company Limited. If I am incorrect iiv my information 1 trust that His Worship will correct me through your columns, as many of these small contractors are of the same opinion as myself. It would also be interesting to know whether or not the Lower Hutt City Council adds a further percentage for its supervision, and any other charges there may be. If the above facts are correct 1 venture to suggest that the work could have been carried out »t a much smaller cost to those who have suffered damage by permitting the small contractors to carry out the work in the usual way under the supervision of tTie Lower Hutt City Council. I also desire to point out that the co-opted bricklayers, carpenters and labourers in the majority of instances are not regular employees of the Hutt Valley Builders Construction Company Limited. Yours faithfully, F. NEWMAN.

KI2PIA: TO Mi'. R M:\V.M VN Immediately following the Earthquake a special meeting of the City Council was held when, from a preliminary report of tne damage done and the apparent resources for restoration, it way seen that additional labour would be needed urgently. Steps were taken to obtain the release of artisians engaged on defence construction work, and also to obtain other bricklayers from outside districts. As all of the labour and the necessary materials are under the control of the Commissioner of Defence Construction, it was necessary to approach the Government for assistance in the matter. Our appeal resulted in the following offer: The Government will arrange tor labour and materials to be made available for the work, and will pay the local body for work done in cases where the owner defaults, on the following conditions: (a) Local Body to assume control of the whole of' the urgent restoration work. (b) Instruction for all work to be dealt with through the Committee dealing with the allocation of labour to all defence construction work in the Wellington District. (This Committee indicated that the work in the liutt Valley was allocated to the Hutt Valley Builders Construction Company. Ltd. (O Local Body to decide the order of priority in which the individual jobs are to be carried out. '(d) Local Body to take all possible steps to recover payment from the owner in each case, (e) The work to be carried out under this arrangement is restricted to —- (1 ) The making available of one chimney to each house. (2) The demolition and temporary sealing of any other dangerous chimneys. ( M ) The making weatherproo of damaged roofs and walls. The City Council had no option but to accept these conditions. The rales of pay are beyond the control of the Council which is doing all in its power to protect the interests of the ratepayers. A fairly comprehensive survey of damage has been undertaken voluntarily by E.l'.S. Wardens and- a Committee consisting of lILs Worship the Mayor (J. W. Andrews'),

Mr. G. C. Thornton, Property Supervisor, Wellington District Office, State Advances Department, and tile City Engineer (Mr. 11. R. Bach), meets regularly to receive and consider reports of Inspectors and to determine the order of priority. The jobs are then handed over to the building contractors. Already lo'J jobs have been classified as first priority jobs, and of these 2 8 are completed. The Council's first task is to see that the most, urgent cases are dealt with first and that the best possible use is made of all the resources available. It would welcome the assistance of Mr. Newman or any others who can lie of practical use. J. W. ANDREWS E A ItTUyUA KE DAMAGE

Dear Sir, in reply to Mr. Newman's letter in this issue of the "Hutt News," we would like to state that at present all available builders and their organisations are employed on earth quake damage. The Building Controller has endeavoured to co-opt all available labour. Is Mr. Newman prepared Lo make his services available under a proper organised scheme.' 1 The necessity for centralised control was early apparent and the Defence Allocation Committee nominated the ILV.jLi. Construction C 0.,, Ltd. as the controlling organisation of the Hutt Valley districts. Who were the numerous small contractors that were barred from doing earthquake repair work.' So far, we know of none such, and we have no objection to handing over a section of works in the Lower Hutt district to any organisation that can supply its own transport and we will gladly make the materials available. Provided they work on priority lists supplied by the City Council and according to the rates agreed to by the Defence Committee and the local bodies concerned, and (lo only the amount of work specified by the City Council. They must work in the district allocated to them to avoid over-lapping of transport, men and materials and wasting of petrol and tyres. That these rates are reasonable is borne out by the fact that the rates as stated are less than those charged by the very few .ciHi tractors who undertook repair work in the first few days of disorganised control. The I-1.V.8. 'Construction Co. Ltd. is anxious to complete this" work so as to be able to return to its urgent defence programme so would welcome any assistance from Mr. Newman. So far as we are aware only two bricklayers, and two labourers and no carpenters are employed by the Company on earthquake damage who were not members or employees of the Company before the earthquake. The two bricklayers concerned were public spirited enough to raise no objection to working with our organisation for as long as the urgency lasts. The labourers were sent to us by the Placement Officer. Mr. Newman has not been to the Council offering his services, nor been barred from operating in the District so we fail to see the necessity for him to rush into print. Yours faithfully, 11.V.8. CONSTRUCTION Co. Ltd,