ENGINEERS’ AWARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1924, Page 7

ENGINEERS’ AWARD.

POSITION OF IMMIGRANTS.

UNDER RATE WORKERS’ PERMIT. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. At the sitting of the . Arbitration Court this morning Mr. F. Barter (secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers’ Union at Auckland) said thfit as a result of the publication of a statement in the newspa/pers, in which Mr. Justice Fraser was credited with saying that many Of the immigrant engineers arriving from England were specialists and not all-round men, and therefore should be granted under-rate workers’ permits, he (Mr. Barter) had received several applications for such permits. Mr. Justice Frazer ®aid that so far as he knew the papers had reported him correctly, but in Wellington there had apparently been some misunderstanding. What he said at the West Coast was that many of the engineers coming out from England were specialists, and did not have the all-round general knowledge required of engineers in the Dominion. Unfortunately New Zealand had not reached a high standard when specialists were squired for • very branch of the trade, but so far as he could see there should be no objection to a man, who was a specialist in one particular line, being granted an under rate workers’ permit until such time as he extended his knowledge. Nobody for ;> moment suggests that it !•> treause trade might be slack,’’ added His Honour, “or that they should be allowed to work at cheap rates, but simply these specialists should lie paid what they are worth until they get the all-round knowledge necessary here.”

When making an application to have the firm of A rmstrong, Whitworth and Co. made a party to an award this morning. Mr. Sutherland (secretary of the Ironworkers’ Union) said: ’kl can’t see for the life of me why Armstrong end Whitworth want exemption. If they are granted exemption every employer in New Zealand could apply. There are any amount of men in New Zealand able to carry out the work and comply with the existing awards too.” Messrs Armstrong, Whitwortn and Co. are contractors for the Arapuni dam, end have entered into an agreement v. ith the New Zealand Workers’ Union, an unregistered body, in whfch it ha® been agreed that overtime ratas are not to be paid until a week’s work of 48 hours has been put in. whereas the various Arbitration Court awards provide for the payment of overtime rates after 44 hours been worked in any one week.