STANDARD WAGES

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4607, 9 October 1934, Page 5

STANDARD WAGES

DECISION TO SUBSIDISE. AWAKINO ROAD RELIEF WORKERS. The employment of relief labour at unemployment rates on the Awakino Road sealing was taken exception to by Cr. O'Connell at the Borough Council meeting last evening. _ Picked men we're working on this major construction work, he said, and they were only being paid unemployment wages. If this rule were adhered to, we would never get out of the depression. He moved that these men should be subsidised up to standard rates while employed on the Awakino Road work. Cr. Hitchcock said this would give the power to dismiss the men if they were not doing well —the Borough would get their money's worth through the men doing better work. It was computed that the extra cost, if the men were to be paid 12s a day, would be £4 a week, or £3O for the work. On this amount the subsidy from the Main Highways Board of £3 for £1 would be operative. When the engineer mentioned that he would want relief labour for clearing the willows inside the Borough soon, the Mayor asked if this essential work should not entitle the men to standard wages. It was, however, agreed that owing to it being a constructional a'nd permanent work the Awakino Road fell into a different category. The engineer said that if necessary the staff could do the work —he was using relief labour only for the purpose of speeding up the work to allow the staff to keep maintenance up. Councillors, however, pointed out that in the past it had been the practice to employ casual labour for such works.

A discussion then followed on what constituted standard wages —the Borough workmen were paid 15s lOd a day, this being above that paid by the Public Works Department and such bodies. Cr. Mullins commented that there was a big margin between this and 12s for men working together, but Cr. Lincoln said that 12s a day was practically a standard rate nowadays for labourers of any description. It was decided that the relief men should be paid 12s a day from that date. Four relief workers are employed continuously on the work — four work for 3% days and four for 2% days.