THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1924 CONTRACTORS’ LABOUR.

Wairarapa Age, 17 December 1924, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1924 CONTRACTORS’ LABOUR.

An interesting question is raised with the application Of the Ironworkers’ Union in Auckland for the great British firm of Armstrong, Whitworth and Cp. to be made a party to the New Zealand award, which provides for a 44-hours week. This firm has obtained the contract for the construction‘ of the Arapuni dam, its price being a great deal lower than the lowest tender by a New Zealand firm. It has, of course, a very wide experience of contracting in all parts of the world, and has probably employed more labour on some of its jobs than is employed on the whole of the hydro-elec-tric schemes in New Zealand. No doubt the lowness of its tender was based partly upon its power of providing ironwork and machinery at low cost and partly on its superior knowledge of the handling of labour. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co. will, howover, come under New Zealand labour conditions in carrying out this contract, and the present motion is therefore important. While the award provides for a 44-hour week, the contractors have entered into an agreement with the New Zealand Workers’ Union, which is said to be an unregistered body, under which a 48-hour week will be observed. The question involved is a most important one, going rather beyond the mere problem of the ability of a private firm to get better work out of its men than a government department. As there are other British firms now engaged in large, contracting works in the Dominion the Court’s decision wiljr be awaited with great interest. s