DIRECTION TO WORK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25502, 4 April 1944, Page 7

DIRECTION TO WORK

MAN-POWER ORDER DISOBEYED TAXI-DRIVER FINED £5 In the City Police Court yesterday, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., Peter John Klimeck, a taxi-driver, was charged with having failed to comply with a direction of the man-power authorities. The defendant, who was represented by Mr A. G. Neill, pleaded not guilty. The prosecution was conducted by Mr A. J. Haub. . . Mr Haub said the defendant' had been drawn in the fourteenth ballot. After being in camp for some time, he had made a request to be allowed to go back to lus taxi business or to essential work. When the request was not granted he threatened to air his grievance through the press. He was later discharged from camp, and was directed to work with McSkimming and Son, Ltd., Benhar. He agreed to go, and was given a free railway pass. The defendant had been seen driving a taxi in the streets of Dunedin, and he had admitted that he had started in business again. „ , .. . Evidence was given by Samuel Ail'd McSkimming. works manager of the firm, who said that the defendant had seen him at Benhar on December 9 last. He said he had been directed by the National Service Department to work at Benhar, but he expressed the opinion that the work would be too heavy for him, as he was not used to manual labour. “ The defendant did not impress me with the idea that he wanted to work,” continued witness. “He seemed to be anxious to get the next train back to Dunedin.” Mr Neill said that there was no evidence before the court that the defendant had been directed to work by the National Service Department, but counsel said he was not relying on that fact ip liis defence. The defendant had been in camp for 18 months, and for the last nine months of that period he had been a bar steward in the officers’ mess. He had injured a leg shortly after entering camp, and It was still giving him a good deal of trouble. It was impossible for him to do manual work. When the defendant went to McSkimming’s he took a large suitcaso with him, but he found he would not be able to do the work. He explained to Mr McSkimming that he had not done manual work, and Mr McSkimming had not pressed him to stay. To iVtr Haub, the defendant said he was prepared to do light work, but only two jobs had been offered him, one at a tannery and the other at Benhar. He had agreed to go to Benhar because he had been told that the work there was light. He did not report to the mappower authorities when he returned from Benhar, the reason being that there was no other work to do. ,r I thought I had been living long enough on 7s 6d a day,” witness added. The magistrate said that it was clear that the defendant had been released from camp to go into essential industry. He should have made an attempt to carry out thp work he had been directed to do by the man-power authorities. The defendant was fined £5, with costs (10s) and witness’s expenses (30s).