COMPLAINT BY CONTRACTORS

Taranaki Daily News, 23 August 1930, Page 10

COMPLAINT BY CONTRACTORS

PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS. DEPUTATION TO THE' MINISTER. Dy Telegraph;’—Press Association. J Wellington, Aug. 21. Complaints of unfairness in the conditions of contract used in respect of public works were made to-day to the Government through the Minister of Railways by a deputation from the New Zealand Federated Builders and Contractors’ Association. It was pointed out that the conditions of contract provided that should any schedules of quantities or other information be supplied to contractors they were only intended for the assistance of the contractor in checking his own estimate, but that no claim of any kind would be allowed should they be found to be inaccurate or incomplete. A contractor was required to rectify any mistakes before a tender was submitted. It was said that these changes violated the cardinal principles of British justice, inasmuch as the contractor was. made responsible for the inaccuracies of Public Works engineers. The Minister Said that naturally he could not make a definite statement bn matters outside his own department; and as the representations concerned other Ministers, indeed to some extent the whole Government, it seemed to him that they would have to be considered by Cabinet. He would confer with the Minister of Public Works, and then Cabinet would consider whether the Government was justified in relaxing the regulations in accordance with the representations. As far as the Railway Department was concerned, they were already considering the conditions of contract, and the requests of the deputation would be taken into consideration. He promised that a reply would be furnished after the matter nad been fully considered.