RELIEF BASIS

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 128, 25 May 1932, Page 3

RELIEF BASIS

For Public Works

REDUCTION OF 20-PER CENT.

BASIC WAGE OF 10/- DAILY

(Per Press Association) WELLINGTON, Tuesday. A move in the direction of turning of the Public Works undertakings throughout New Zealand on to a purely relief basis has been made by affecting wage reductions of up to 20 per cent., according to an official announcement made to-day. This action is in accordance with the policy outlined by the Minister of Public Works in his statement to the House of Representatives on March 1 that expenditure on Public Works out of borrowed money would have to be reduced to about one-quarter of the amount spent last year.

20 Per Cent. Wage Reduction The basic wage for all unskilled workers in the department will be reduced by 20 per cent. —namely, from 12s 6d per day to 10s per day, thus placing them on the same footing as relief workers as far as the actual pay for a day’s work is concerned. However, they will receive different treatment in that they will be provided with a full week’s work irrespective of whether they are married or single.

Grading to be Retained

Proportionate reductions will be made among skilled and semi-skilled workers, but in this instance the present system of grading will be retained. The reductions will be made on the basis of a man’s grading, and although the -wage cuts may vary it is understood that they will in no instance be over 20 per cent.

Co-operative workers will also suffer reductions, and piecework rates will be cut in proportion, so that these men will receive proportionately the same wage as before as compared with the others who will be subjected to reductions. An effort is being made by the Public Works Department to keep within the estimated expenditure of borrowed money for the current year, which was set down at £1,234,000 by Mr. Coates in his statement to Parliament.

Borrowed Money Expenditure

During the last financial year the borrowed money appropriation under the department’s control, apart from separate funds found for : rain highways construction, was £5,542,000. It was originally intended that expenditure should be reduced to £2,800,000, but it was later found necessary to cut this still further to a little over £1,000,000 owing to the serious state of the country’s finances and the inability to secure large sums of borrowed money for Public Works purposes.

The largest single cut in expenditure is to be upon roads and bridges, excluding highways, which is to be reduced by £1,075,000, from £1,325,000 to £250,000.