MEN DISMISSED

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4813, 21 July 1939, Page 5

MEN DISMISSED

HOUSING WORKERS. AN ECONOMY MEASURE. Described officially as an economy and reorganisation measure, approximately 350 out of 500 men employed on clearing, development and masonry work, together wth a few carpenters, are being dismissed by the Housing Construction Department in Auckland and are being offered work elsewhere, chiefly with the Public Works Department. Already over 100 have been dismissed, and the services of the remainder will be dispensed with during the next three or four weeks.

Strong dissatisfaction among the men at the Housing Department's action resulted in a stop-work meeting in the Trades Hall, Auckland, yesterday morning, when, from 8 o'clock until 11, 300 employees discussed the position. One of the chief causes of complaint was that the work offered under the Public Works Department was at a distance from the city and at a rate lower than that which the men have been receiving. Two delegates were appointed to interview the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, at Wellington, with a view to having the men retained in the Housing Department's employ. "The dismissals are being made contingent on the point that no man will be put off without the opi portunity of transferring to other : work, chiefly concerned with Public Works Department operations," said Mr. R. L. McPhail, head of the Housing Construction Department at Auckland, when commenting upon the matter. Some time might elapse before all the proposed transfers were made, but in the meantime the men concerned would be retained by the department. It was also hoped to find work for a limited number of men through the efforts of the head placement officer.