WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 17 February 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

WORK WANTED BY WORKERS. (Special to “ Guardian WELLINGTON, Feb. Jo. Die lion, tlie Prime .Minister and i.lie Ministers for Lands and Public Works were waited upon by a deputation representing the political Labour Party and the Alliance of Labour liesides some other Labour body. Mr H. E. Holland, the Leader of the Opposition, attended himself and made a lew remarks of a not important character and suggested that the Government should put in hand works which were already provided for in the Estimates. This was a cheap suggestion and it is difficult to know whether the Minister for Public Works has the work to offer. The Secretary for the Alliance of Labour, the well-known Mr J. Roberts, said he thought the unemployed problem was becoming a permanent one. There is nothing new in that statement because unemployment is a continuous thing in every country. The trouble with us is just now that unemployment is more pronounced because those who would employ labour are unable to do so for they cannot afford the labour costs. That is not the fault of the Government but of the workers themselves for insisting upon a higher rate of wage than the country can afford. There is of course a way out of the difficulty by unemployment insurance, but here again the workers seem to think they must have the premiums paid for them and receive a high return, say 17s (id to 255. with os per week for each child. I his, we believe, is the Queensland scheme, but Queensland is no guide for us. Mr F. B. Cooke, of the Canterbury Trades ami Labour Countil and a member of the Christchurch City Council, referred to the hardships of the unemployed in that city, and stated that those who went into the country to look for work had returned without finding any. lie suggested that the Government should issue 'lreasury notes to the value of £2.000,005 in order to proceed with certain works. Here we have the early but dangerous way of the Government overcoming the difficulty. The Government borrowed last year for the same purpose and cut the wages to 12s and its. and yet the unemployed are louder in their demands than ever before. “11 the Economists would stop attacking the Arbitration Court (said Mr Cooke) and would devote their brains to dealing with the present problem in a positive maliner they would be rendering better service to the country. ” The Economists might well retort il the Labour leaders would help to abolish the Arbitration Court and allow labour to earn the most and best it can. unfettered and untramnieled. the Labour leaders would be doing the country a decided service. 1 hey will not see that the Arbitration Court with its fixed wages is protecting a section of the workers and penalising the remainder. Rut the Arbitration Court is sacrosanct to the Labour Party because it helps them to find jobs lor themselves. Mr T. Bloodworth hails from Auckland, and he had a good deal to say about the unemployment in Auckland, and the burden of bis plea was that the Government should make more money available lor building houses and should it soli press forward with the work. We believe that in Auckland there are at the present time quite a number of houses to let. and were it not lor the high rentals demanded these houses would be let. \\ hat is the use ol building more houses in a situation like the present? Mr K. Semple. President of the Labour Party, said the labouring classes whom he represented lived at the best of times right up against the bread line. There were thousands ol men to-day with hungry children and miserable wives. He hoped the Government. would grapple "il.b the situation in a statesmanlike manner. All these Labour leaders, most ol whom have lived and are living upon labour, can suggest nothing else but a Government tlcde. Last year (lit* Government fixed the wages on relic! work at 12s for married men and 9s for single men. but it seems that a further cut must be made in the wages and perhaps 10s and 8s would be not ttnlair. 'lhe Premier in his reply said they had to consider what the question was today. He said there was a certain amount of danger in the Government immediately putting in hand all the work lor which it held credit. It is true enough that the Government has to provide for winter work as well as for summer work, and at the present time the Public Works Department had about 8000 men employed. The difficulty with the Government is in obtaining the necessary finance to carry on, nor could be see how the country could be organised to provide the additional finance. He thought the position in New Zealand is much better than it was in Australia. W iLli regard to tlie rates of pay he knew he was at variance with the members of the deputation but fie could not see his way to increasing the rate. The deputation got no change out of the Government.