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.
8 Comments
absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz · 8 pts · 2y
Better headline:
Ilovethebomb@lemmy.nz · 6 pts · 2y
Damn good point actually. How bitter do you have to be to complain about roading workers getting a free pie, even if it is once a week?
TagMeInSkipIGotThis@lemmy.nz · 5 pts · 2y
The people in articles like this are a good reminder as to why NZ keeps voting in National governments despite their lives never materially improving under them.
Ilovethebomb@lemmy.nz · 0 pts · 2y
Just can't help yourself, can you?
Dave@lemmy.nz · 4 pts · 2y
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
SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz · 4 pts · 2y
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?
Dave@lemmy.nz · 6 pts · 2y
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.
middleman35@lemmy.nz · 6 pts · 2y
But if people don't make up random bullshit how ever will they get completely unnecessarily mad about things that don't concern them?