WORKERS' WAGES'

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22524, 15 September 1936, Page 12

WORKERS' WAGES'

SUBSIDISED SCHEIE VARIATION IN RATES CITY COUNCIL DRAINAGE A statement that the Auckland City Council has since April this year dispensed with the services of at least four gangs of " permanent-casual " workers employed in the sewerage department, and has since re-engaged most of them at a lower wage and with a Government subsidy of £2 us a man, is made by one of the men concerned, Mr. 0. McMaster, of Ponsonby. Hia statement was prompted by the recent remarks of the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, that many local bodies in various parts of the Dominion had dispensed with relief workers purely as a result of political bias.

The City Council employees concerned wore earning £4 10s Id for 47 hours' work, but after being dismissed and re-engaged, ou a 40-hour week basis, the wages were £4 a week, less tax, reducing the total to £3 17s 4d, Mr. McMaster said. The men were dismissed, at different times since April, and were re-engaged after the 1936 works loan had been raised. A Relief Scheme

" The Minister has complained of local bodies sacking men as a result of political bias, but the City Council, with a Labour majority, is not above the same thing," Mr. McMaster said. " In fact, they have done worse than the bodies referred to by the Minister, because they dispensed with regular employees, and later 're-engaged them for the same work at a lower rate of pay." Asserting that the position was not being fairly stated, the cjty engineer, Mr. J. Tyler, said,that for some years these .men had been employed on drainage works which wore financed by loan money, supplemented by Government subsidy, and established for the • purpose of relieving unemployment. When these workci came to an ond there was no alternative but to dispense with the services of the men concerned. He said that formerly the men were paid Is lid an hour for a 47-hburs week, and wheri the weekly hours were later reduced to 44 the hourly rate was increased to Is Hid.

No Question of Politics This would give weekly wages of £4 10s Id a.nd ,£4 6s 2d, but during the past three years the work had been rationed so that few of the men received those totals. Under the rationing they lost one week's work in seven weeks, so that the average earned waa about £3 19s 6d..Under both rates the workers paid.the wage tax. When tho council arranged the present loan works the Government made it a condition of the subsidy paid that rationing should cease and that the men should not work more than 40 hours a week and should be paid 2s an hour or the award rate, whichever should be the higher. The men now engaged on this work were being paid 2s an hour for 40 hours and were not required to stand down as before. Mr. Tyler said that the question of politics did not enter into the matter, a3 the council had met the wishes of the Government in arranging the work.