CONTRACT OR DAY WORK?

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 10, 11 December 1930, Page 4

CONTRACT OR DAY WORK?

POSITION IN POHANGINA. ECONOMIES DISCUSSED. Day labour as contrasted with contract work was discussed at yesterdJiy s.. meeting of the Pohangma County on the matter the engineer (Mr D. Watson) stated: “During my absence from work for the two months, on account of illness, I regret that any trouble should have arisen as to the choice of having work done by contract, as against day labour, also the question of labour in this connection. As engineer in this county foi . the past eleven years, I should like to P 0 ™ 1 out something of the difficulty of ® ting work by contract m a district situated as this is, where there are no contractors nor anyone equipped lor doing the work. Work of any magnitude would be quite different. Expert enced contractors would come from a distance and would provide accommodation for their men, which has been the case on several occasions. All the worK in this county is scattered about, and in many, cases comprises small Jons such as building concrete _ culverts, carting filling for same, laying down cement pipes, erecting metal bins, blasting and carting gravel. Setting up the portable stone-crushing plant, engine, etc., and working same, inis class of work to a casual observer may not appear to be intricate, but nevertheless it requires men with experience, and in fairness to the gang of men who do this work for the council, under my supervision, I feel it incumbent on me to state that they are hard-work-ing, experienced men, who have been in the council’s employ for a long time. 1 ‘As regards constructional work, such as roadmaking, building concrete bridges, etc., the council lias-all the gear required to hand, including old bridge timber for temporary' work, which is a very big item. There are also horses, motor trucks, grader, etc., all of which a small contractor would have to find. Therefore, it is hard to see how this class of- work could lie done cheaper by anone outside this district. Large works, as I have already mentioned, are quite a different matter. In reference to the difference in the cost of metal carted by contract as against that carted by the council s trucks, I might mention that no contract has been let for road metalling since Mr J. Marshall’s time, about eight years ago.. . “I have gone into the matter witn the roadman, who stated he had worked on Saturday afternoon and received no payment for doing so, and find that in sending in his time he had omitted to show any overtime work.” The chairman (Cr. Strahan) m referring to a discussion at the last meeting, said that there had been no derogatory remark against the engineer. This year the roads had stood up to the work well, and reflected great credit on the engineer and his staff. Cr. Knight said that there were several things he would like to discuss with the engineer. It was necessary to curtail expenses as much as possible. His remarks did not reflect in any way on the staff. Reductions were essential, and only single men were affected. The engineer: I was not referring to any newspaper correspondence, . but merely wished to point out the difference between contract and day work as it affected this county. Cr. Howell said it was impossible to do without a permanent staff. Cr. Knight: Those who objected to the cut in wages appear to be those who are in no way affected. Cr. Howell took exception to objections to a man not receiving pay for a Saturday afternoon being ventilated in the Press before the council was given an opportunity of adjusting the matter. In this case it was the man’s own fault. ' f Cr. Craine: There is a certain amount of give and take regarding hours. This closed the discussion.