THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM

New Zealand Times, Volume LIV, Issue 9866, 24 March 1893, Page 2

THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM

PREMIER OF SOOTH AUSTRALIA SEEKS INFORMATION. THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED. The plan of carrying out public works on the 00-operatlve system, wbioh the Ballanoe Government have recently reduced to attooeesfnl is attfstjila log considerable attention Id , the Australian Colonies. Through , the • Post; maater-Gcneral (Hon Mr War.d) the. Premier of South .Australia has applied to be furnished with fall particulars, and in response thereto tbs Hon Mr Seddon has just forwarded to Adelaide a statement explanatory of the system, and also the Public Works Statements of 1891 and 1892. with marked passages bear* ing on the subject. As the explanatory statement preseats in a concise form tbs details of the syst m it mast prove of very general interest, and we therefore append it for public information : An account of the origin of the system, and bow it was proposed to work It, was given ty the Minister tor Public Works in the statement presented to Parliament by him in 1891 (see pages fi and G). The method of working has, however, been somewhat modified since the statement wn delivered, ae it has been found better, and really neoesaary when the men were not well acquainted with one another's capabilities,.to form them Into smaller parties than originally intended. The average strength df thS parties now is not mdre than 8 to 10 men; and for these small parties we do Hot insist on trust deeds being drawn up and having trustees duly appointed ; but simply direct each party 61 men to elect two of their number as ‘ bead men,’ who represent ths party in dealings with tbs Government engineer in charge of ths work, and give acquittances on behalf of the party for payments made. The classifying of ths men is also more easily arranged under tbs small party system. The oo operative system as at present worked may be described shortly as follows: —When, eay, a pieoe of railway is to ha constructed, the number of men that can be advantageously employed on it is estimated. When the men are selected they go on to the ground either ail at once, or in lots, according to circumstances, and, with the assistance of ths Resident Engineer, arrange themselves into parties, each party elects its head men, and ail the members of the party sign a printed order authorising the bead men to receive pay. meat on their behalf. All the members of the party also sign a set of specifications and conditions and schedule of prices, the prices having previously been fixed by the Resident Engineer, with the approval of the Engineerin Chief.

These prices are fixed on the following basis *—l, Wbat it would oast to da the work at per day’s wage current in tbe locality for a similar class of work, 2, To this is added a percentage of profit which a contractor would require. The earnings of tbe men, with all first class men in a party, should therefore be 10 per cent higher than tbe current rata of wages for similar work, and when the men engaged are under the firstclass standard, the earnings aro correspondingly small. Eaoh patty has a section of the line assigned to it, and is paid for the work done’at the said previously fixed schedule rates, there being no lump contract sum, end the right being reserved to the Government to stop the works at any time. The (election of workmen is made through the Government Labour Bureau. When a portion of railway or other work ia to be put in band the bnrean is advised by tbe constructing department of the nature of tbe work and the number of man required ; (he bureau then takes the responsibility of providing the men and sending them on to the ground, preference being given to married men ont of employment where the work is situated, and preference Is also given to married men on Lsbcur Bureau list. When tha bureau pays the railway fares of men, tbe secretary sends orders for same to ths Fublio Works Department, and the amounts are deducted from the meu’s earnInge, The parties are supplied by Government with tents and tools, and the cost of the tools is deducted from their esrniogs, tbe tents remaining the property of the Government, The heavier and expensive plant Is also faaad by the Government, and a percentage for tbe use of same by tbo workmen is deducted ia fixing the cost price of tbe work.

The system originally adopted, more -- especially with reference to railway formation (earthworks), has sinoe been applied also in the laying of the permanent way, and the oonstractioa of roads. More recently it hst also been extended to the erection of buildings, and in all oases tbs results have been satisfactory. The materials for the buildings are pro. vided by the Government, and the work of erection is carried out at prices fixed by the Government Engineer. Enclosed are copies of the Publio Works Statements for 1891 and 1892, with passages in reference to tbs co operative works marked, also a oopy each of the standard epeoification and . conditions used by the Public Works and Mines Departments la carrying out the system. In reporting on the progress of the works each month, the Resident Engineer sends in a statement showing the number of men employed, wages earned, and • oopy of the form of this return (filled in as an example) is also enclosed. These retains ehow the dumber of hoars and days on which each man worked and from this is worked out the average wage earned by the party per boar, per actual day worked, and per ideal day of eight hours. The cost of materials, hirs of horses, &0., incurred by the party for carrying on tht-ir work is deducted from the gross earnings, aad the net earnings are shown. For some of the data of this return—as, for examp'e, the number of hoars sad dsys worked by each man—the Government’s overseers have to depend mainly □poo Information famished by the head men of the parties, which thsy (the overseers) obeck as beat they can. So far, however, there is no reason to believe that the information thus obtained ts not reliable enough for the purpose for which it is wanted.

Tbe average number of men employed by the Government nnder this system on railway and road works daring the past year has been about 1900.