CITY COUNCIL EMPLOYEES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 13948, 3 January 1906, Page 5

CITY COUNCIL EMPLOYEES.

TO THE EDITOR. ' Sir, —I was much surprised oiAjead< ing si letter signed “Aka,” to leant that the City Council employees wer<r granted a half-holiday for election phr» .. poses, and for which their pay was stopped. As a ratepayer, I agree with him that it Is somewhat niggardly ioU a city with such pretensions. Thesf men, I believe, on making full time, • receive the. munificent sum of 7s pe< day. For this they have to be men oi. character, arid competent- for ; their various duties, and these are anything but light. Only a few weeks since the men could be seen mud-walloping in the streets in torrents of rain, and in such a state as to be almost- unrecognisable. In cases of storm, they may be seen irt the streets, wading in water up to their knees for our comfort. Now, as an emplover of labour for many years, I can safely say that 'I always get- the best return from my employees by generous treatment. I have no doubt .in, my mind that it would be in the interests of the ratepayers of Christchurch that our Council should follow the lead of Wellington and Timaru, and pay for their labour the same as outside contractors do. I remember the question being asked at Mayor Gray’s political meeting, and, if I remember rightly, the answer was that, to the best of hi* belief, most of the men were getting 8s per dav. Now this does not appear to be the “fact, as I am informed that generally the men get £2 2s if full time is made. I trust that some abler pen than mine may take up the cause, and that our Council may wake'up, and remove this stain from our fair city.—l • am, etc., RATEPAYER.