Conisbro’ U.D.C. – Proposed Salaries “Cut”- Surveyor’s Spirited Defence of Staff.

December 1928

Mexborough Swinton Times December 14, 1928

Conisbro’ U.D.C.
Proposed Salaries “Cut”
Smashing Defeat.
Surveyor’s Spirited Defence of Staff.

The threat of a ten per cent. reduction in the salaries of the officials of the Conisboro’ Urban Council did not materialise at the monthly .meeting of the Council on Wednesday evening, when a motion, standing in the name of Mr.H. Gillott, was defeated, only three voting in favour.

Mr. Gillott said the unemployment and distress in the district led him to move the reductions. The officials affected were the clerk, surveyor, rating officer, assistant surveyor, two others in the surveyor’s department, the meat inspector, and three assistants. The salaries were in his opinion too big and the emoluments exceeding everything, in reason. The surveyor’s department salaries totalled £1,299, and in the first nine months of this year the surveyor had been paid £741 12s. They had paid, £106 in respect of the surveyor’s car, and he suggested that that was an emolument. He had received £130 in respect of housing. The cost of his department was £1622. The collector’s department cost £908, and the meat inspector’s salary, of £200 was outrageous. The salary of the clerk was £285, but emoluments would make it £335. He asked for a reduction of ten per cent in the salaries of all the officials mentioned, and said the saving would be £242, the equivalent of a penny rate.

Mr. J. I Webster said he would formally second the resolution to allow a discussion.

Mr. A. Roberts (who presided) said it Mr. Webster adopted that course he would have to speak on the subject then or not at all. Mr. Webster said the officials, especially ‘the higher ones, were getting too much; the Council were in a position to pay the present salaries he would be in favour of them, but conditions in the district did not warrant them. For nine months of this year the surveyor had drawn an average of £80 a month, and the district could not stand it, although probably the official was worth the money.

Mr. EL Gomersall contended that the resolution was out of order. If it was proposed to reduce anyone’s salary they should be given due notice.

Mr. W. L. Worsley suggested that the best course, in the event of the Council having decided on the reductions, was to give notice to those affected to terminate their engagements and ask them if they wanted re-engagement on new terms.

Mr. J. T. E. Collins said he was not very much concerned whether the motion was out of order or not. He looked at the question from the point of view of putting himself and his fellow miners in the same position. If their employers asked them to accept a ten per cent reduction they would resent the attitude and a lock-out would probably re-suit. The Council would be attempting to reduce salaries without giving those affected, an opportunity to say anything. As a member of the working class, he could not agree to tactics similar to those adopted by the capitalist class. It was like putting a pistol to the heads of the staff. He was sure that when they had heard the statements put forward on behalf of the staff they would take a different view.

The Surveyor (Mr. H. Thirlwall) said he was surprised there had been a seconder, as no preliminary investigation had been made to see whether the action was justified or not. Mr. Gillott had not taken into account the legal aspect of the case or the consequences if the motion was successful. The proper course was to give the entire staff notice and then re-engage them on new terms, and that would involve endless complications. Mr. Gillott had spoken as though the officials were taking something out of the public purse to which they were not entitled. They were entitled to all they got, and more. If all the facts were gone into they would find that some of the staff were underpaid. In administrative offices one had to have brain work, and brains had to be paid for. Perhaps Mr. Gillott had difficulty in realising that, but it was so. If Mr. Gillott had to put his hand in his (the speaker’s) pocket in the street he would be called a pickpocket, yet he was attempting to deprive the officials of something they were entitled to. Mr. Gillott was trying to bolster up his chances at the next election by that method.

Mr. Gillott: You are a perverter of the truth.

The Surveyor proceeded that Mr. Gillott was trying to make a virtue of his action. Much money was saved by the officials by careful investigation when buying. He calculated that he had saved the Council £300 during October. He was mentioning his own case because he had been viciously attacked. He was protecting the interests of the staff. In the last three years he had carried out engineering works which had cost £15,000, and was preparing plans for schemes that would cost about £25,000. He had no need to do that work if he did not want, and had saved the Council about £3100 during the three years. They should take into account the money saved by direct labour schemes which he had carried out. He had received £75 towards the £3,100. He would be perfectly justified in jettisoning all that extra work. Mr. Gillott had put the case for reducing the rates by a penny, but the penny rate will take about 10d a year from the rates of an ordinary house.

Thus the officials were supposed to be depriving the ratepayers of pint and half of beer a year.

Mr. J. I. Webster asked if they were to infer that if any other than Mr. Thirlwall had been surveyor they would have had to engage special engineers for the works mentioned? Would another surveyor not be prepared to do that work? It seemed to him that an official was holding a pistol to the heads of the Council. The surveyor had only acted as he ought to have done, and it was the duty of the officials to buy as cheaply as possible for the Council.

The Chairman said that comparing the Council with a private concern, in regard to administration, they were on the better side. The discussion was really out of order but he had allowed it, to show how silly it was. The Surveyor would have been quite entitled to, ask the Council to get consulting engineers for much of the work he had done, and it would be difficult to get a man to do the combined duties of surveyor and sanitary inspector that Mr. Thirlwall had been doing. Half the salary of the sanitary inspector was paid by the Government, so the saving on the rates by the proposed reductions would only be about a halfpenny.

Mr. Gillott said he was not making a personal attack on the Surveyor; it was upon the whole of the officials and most of the staff. Why had the Clerk not told them of the legal aspect at the previous meeting, when the notice of motion was given?

The Cleric (Mr. Spencer Baker) said his opinion was never asked.

Only three members voted for the resolution.

The Balby-Street Fire.

The rescuers at the Balby-street fire were again discussed.The Clerk said that at the last meeting it was decided to ask four four men, named Cousins, Rose, Riley, and Collindridge, to appear before the Council to give their versions of what happened, as it was alleged that Cousins did not take part. It had been the intention of the Council to recommend the men for recognition by the Royal Humane Society, but he had found since the last meeting that the Society only rewarded cases of rescue from drowning and in mines:

Mr. Gillott moved that the Council give official recognition to the rescuers.

Mr. J. I. Webster asked what form the recognition would take and what powers the Council had in the matter.

The Clerk said that certificates of merit could be awarded.

The Chairman said they wanted to find out who was entitled to the recognition. He did not think it was the Council’s job to settle disputes of that sort. It would place them in an invidious position. He did not know of a public authority that did such things. They could recommend to the Royal Humane Society, but the full facts should he obtained before the Council discussed it.

Cousins said he wanted Mr. Gillott to withdraw a statement he had made that he did not go into the burning home or take any part in the rescue. He did not want any more

The three other men declared that Cousins did not take part.

Or the motion of Mr. J. I. Webster it was decided to recognise all four men, the form of the recognition to be decided later.

This was unanimously agreed to.

Press Privileges.

The suggestion contained in a letter from the South Yorkshire branch of the National Union of Journalists that all newspaper representatives in the district be given copies of the minutes of the committee meetings before the meeting, was adopted. The letter stated that Mr. J. I. Webster, who corresponded with certain newspapers, had an unfair advantage, because of his position on the Council, to disseminate news.

Mr. Webster said he had never sent out news from the minutes, and his motion that the newspapers that applied for the minutes should be given them as soon as they were available, was adopted.

Rent Arrears.

Mr. Collins said the Housing Committee had considered the advisability of reducing the Council house rents. A report on the matter would be submitted at their next meeting, and they hoped to be able to accomplish something. They had also discussed a case where they had taken court proceedings against a person for arrears of rates. They had found they could not withdraw the proceedings and regretted they could not do so.

Street Lighting.                                                               

Mr. Gillott asked how the street lighting arrangements for the Conanby and Dayland housing sites were proceeding.

The Surveyor said the work should be commenced shortly, and they were only waiting for the materials.

Hawkers.                                                                            

Mr J. I. Webster asked if the Council could do anything to prevent the large numbers of hawkers frequenting the township. Could the attention of the police be drawn to them?

The Chairman said the hawkers were a nuisance.

Mr. Gillott said that some time ago he brought up the question of the nuisance caused by “ice cream buzzer blowers.” They were still as active and men on the night shifts could not get to sleep for them.

The Clerk said the police had replied that the matter was receiving attention. It was decided to write again on both matters.

Block In Brook Square.                                                 

Mr. C. E. Webster said the trackless tram were causing great inconvenience in Brook Square. They were monopolising Conisboro’. There were often two trackless trams in Brook Square at a time, and to the remaining eight minutes. It constituted a danger to traffic and great inconvenience to shop keepers.

The surveyor said the reason might be that one of the vehicles was held up at the Denaby level crossings.

Mr Gomersall said the reason was that they waited to pick up the patron of cinemas in Mexborough.

Mrs Lever’s alleged that there was a lot of racing between rival services in Denaby, and last week a cow was killed because of the racing.

It was decided to draw the attention of the Mexborough and Swinton tramways to the congestion in square and to the alleged racing.

The Kings Illness

Mrs Kaye was present early on and moved a resolution at a message of sympathy be sent to the King’s illness.

This was agreed to.

Mrs Kaye relinquished the chair to Mr Roberts owing to indisposition.

Library

it was reported that the West riding Education Committee and promised to make up the numbers of books at the library to 16,000 before March, and the Council only had accommodation for 12,000. It was decided to leave the matter over