P.W. JOBS

Hokitika Guardian, 8 July 1937, Page 5

P.W. JOBS

PIECE-WORK TO PREVENT SHIRKING. x Per Press Association—Copyright). WELLINGTON, July 7. “If you’ll take a tip from me, von ought to put the men on piece-work, so that we won’t have the spectacle that we have had all over New Zealand of men leaning on their shovels waiting for 4 o’clock,’’ said the Minister for Public Works (the Hon R. Semple), speaking to local body representatives at a conference held at Wellington to-day to discuss proposals for placing in useful work men now on sustenance. Mr Semple urged that every effort should be made to see that value was obtained for public money spent. “If the men are getting a decent wage, you should see that they do a decent day’s work,” lie said. He was not blaming the men, he added. Many of. them had probably never worked before, bad not had the opportunity to learn to work, had had no incentive to work, or had forgotten how to work, but if that were allowed to continue when their wages were increased their morale would be destroyed.

“My experience is that if you give a‘man something to work for he’ll work all 'right', uuTes£ ’you get the '"doub'e-' barrelled imposter, and the thing to do with him is to dump him instantly.”