"LARGELY RELIEF WORKS"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2539, 13 August 1915, Page 2

"LARGELY RELIEF WORKS"

A MINISTER'S REPLY TO DEMAND FOR MORE WAGES A demand for higher rates of pay for co-operative workers <111 railway "and road construction niade by which waited on. the Minister of I'ublio Works (the lion. D. Fraser) was met by the Minister with some plain talk. The deputation asked for an increase of t!)ie present wag© of 9s. per day. Mr. H. T. Armstrong, national secretary of the Railway and Road Construction Workers' Onion, argued that with tho prices of commodities so high as they wero now, men with families could not live decently on a wage of fls. per day. "You must recollect this fact —somo of you liavo recognised it in your remarks —that theso are not normal times," said the Minister, "and if it wero not for the purpose of finding employment for men at present, any Government would be justified in saying, 'Wo are going to knock off half the men.' You must look at the position in this way—tliat just now the I'ublio Wbrks are not in the ordinary sense public works, but largely relief works." Mr. Fraser said that in last month he : had had to put on 800 or 900 extra men to find work for them to tide them over the other. He believed that as soon as spring set in there would bo. a demand for labour. It was generally understood.that the farmers and others would not be able easily to get the same number of men in the summer months as before, because so many men had gone to the war. But the farmers must have the men, and tho Government must consider the primary industries first. 111 Australia, he added, the men oil-public works were not so well paid' during war timo as were the men here. They received only 7s. or Bs. a'day, and wero only given half-time. Some workers 'here made as much as 10s. or lis. per day. It was not easy for tho Government to pay these rates in war times. He had also somo anxiety as to whether he would be able to got money to . keep 4000 or 5000 men engaged on public works. The money likely to bo available would be strictly limited-, and ho would liko to spread it over as many ns possible, lie would speak to his colleagues on the question, but he could hold out, no hope that tho request would bo granted. "When summer comes," ho. said, "a large number of men on the public works will bo told: 'There is work in. tho country at good wages, and you must do it.' This position has got to bo faced. Wo cannot go 011, when other work is 'availablo, keeping them 011 the public works. I don't anticipate any difficulty, because, as I say, there will bo good wages offered them in the country occupations."