ADDINGTON WORKSHOPS
MEN AND THEIR WORK. SOME GRAVE CHARGES. Per Press Association. CHRISTGHUECII, Jan. 19. The General Manager of New Zealand Railways, Mr Ronayne, recently forwarded the following memorandum to the chief mechanical engineer at Addington works :—,. "I have had a long interview with an expert engineer, who-has paid several visits to the Addington- shops. He was astounded at the stow method and leisurely, work of the*.men generally, hut more especially those in the boiler shop; live minutes per rivet for the new rivetter is a. case in point. The men in the--smiths' simp were also doing the ' Government stroke.' There appeared to be an utter disregard of the foreman ? s presence in any of the shops, the men being allowed to talk and loaf, and do a very indifferent day's work. It is absolutely necessary that this state of indifference be brought to a. close, and a fair day/s work must be insisted upon. It will be futile for the locomotive engineer and staff to say that the charges are groundless. The fact remains that work at Addington costs more to produce than it does at Petone or Hillside. <ffake the cost lof an 'A' compound built at Addington, as compared •with those built by Price Bros. The latter can build cheaper, and yet their shops are not nearly so well equipped as the Addington. shops. You will please take such action as will bring this discreditable state of affairs to an end. —I am, etc., T. Ronayne." A day or two after the despatch- of this memorandum it was replaced by another identical in language, except that the paragraph, "it will be futile for the locomotive engineer and staff to say that the charges are groundless," was omitted. The chief mechanical engineer referred the communication to the general manager at Addington. and that official has, it is understood, sent copies of the document to the heads of all departments, with instructions to supply him with a full report upon all the charges made. ______
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Bibliographic details
Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13808, 20 January 1909, Page 5
Word Count
335ADDINGTON WORKSHOPS Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13808, 20 January 1909, Page 5
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