SHORTENING HANDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20628, 29 July 1930, Page 6

SHORTENING HANDS.

IN SYDNEY. DISMISSAL OF 538 MEN. It was announced at a recent meeting tof the Sydney city electricity committee that it had been found necessary to dispense. with (lie services of 538 men engaged on cable laying, and that at a later date 40 more would have to bo discharged. Mr. Shannon asked whether it was possible to find other work for the men, pending the arrival of the new cable in September. The vice-chairman, Mr. Walder, said that every possible avenue would be explored, but the difficulty would be to finance additional work. The general manager, Mr. Forbes Mackav, explained that there was no •work for the men to do, consequently 4hey had to bo put off. Before men were discharged from any branch, all other branches in the department were asked whether they could absorb any additional labour. Tlu.'re. was a regular formula derifling the. order in which men were dismissed. Married men with dependants Were retained in preference to married men without dependants, and so on. r eply to a series of questions by r. 0 Dea whether it would have been possible for the cable to have been obtained earlier, and so provide continuity fender, v' Mr - Macka y admitted that tore onnT° lcceiv °d several months besormen Ue agrct;d with periods and v men or short Bound policy e l ® n S a 6 c them was not a a Policy. It was usual]y vcry