Mt Messenger bypass opponents claim it will cost $500k in free pies for workers
Mt Messenger bypass opponents claim it will cost $500k in free pies for workers
Opponents of the Mt Messenger bypass project in Taranaki have a new beef with Waka Kotahi - the cost of 'Pieday Friday' although the agency is disputing the cost.
Opponents of the Mt Messenger bypass project in Taranaki have a new beef with Waka Kotahi - the cost of 'Pieday Friday' although the agency is disputing the cost.
They say the staff event - also known as "Whānau Friday" - could cost up to $500,000 over the life of the project. But Waka Kotahi said it would cost about $50,000 and was good for morale.
But New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom - a vocal critic of Waka Kotahi's road maintenance programme - had no appetite for that argument. "If you think, what does a good employer working in a reasonable remote site do, and anybody who begrudges someone working hard an $8 pie once a month sounds pretty petty to me.
Holdom said it was a bit rich for opponents of the project, who had cost the country millions of dollars fighting it through the courts, to complain about the cost of the pies.
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It's not clear to me whether this is a weekly or monthly thing. Is it a poorly worded article or does the author not know? Is it weekly, but the New Plymouth Mayor says he things monthly is ok?
Anyway, I think if you raised their pay by $8 a week no one would argue. But because it's a pie then it's wasted money.
Edit: Oh I see, it's monthly but the complaining group assumed it was weekly because it's called Whānau Friday/Pieday Friday
If they're supplying pies in bulk to the workers it seems like they could be much cheaper than $8 too. I wonder who came up with the figure?
Every figure in that article is made up from on the spot assumptions, except the $50,000 tag that Waka Kotahi said it would cost.
Edit: In terms of the $8, the project actually broke down the cost in the article. It costs $400 each time, and is for 80-100 people. So you're looking at no more than $5 per person.
But if people don't make up random bullshit how ever will they get completely unnecessarily mad about things that don't concern them?