RELIEF WORKS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 March 1930, Page 3

RELIEF WORKS

MR POLSON’S CRITICISM. .HON. HANSOM IN REPLY. B> Telegraph Per Press Association.! HAMILTON, March 30. A reply to Mr Poison M.P.’s recent strictures upon the system of relief work adopted by the Government, was made by the Minister < Public Works to a Waikato Times reporter during the c-ourse of a tour of '-to Bnglan electorate. Hon. Mr Ransom said that instructions had been given to the engineers that, wherever possible, men were to be employed on piecework, and this applied particularly to the relief workers. Wherever it was possible to fairly fix a price, this was done, but there were many works where the conditions were so varied that it was almost impossible to fix a price for piecework. in aclditi in, in accordance with the Government’s instructions the men wore plated on day work for a certain time, if they were inexperienced , in order to enable them to become accustomed to work in which, perhaps, they had never been engaged before. The men, said the Minister, were allowed 10 minutes each mtormng and' alteration For “smoko,” whether they were on day work or piece work. This no doubt, was tho “time off for morning and

afternoon tea” to ..which Mi; . Poison had referred. No such thin}? as “killing time” was allowed, if detected.

With regard to a statement 'made that metal which had been obtained h.v Dalmatians cost 16s a yard, am: that metal obtained by another party, composed of unemployed, had cost C2 10s per yard, Mr Ransom said it w-s not possible to investigate this, unless pai ticuiars were given as to tiim and place. He thought that- it was highly improbable that this statement was correct.

Touching on Mr Poison’s definite statement that a very considerable number of men were on nothing but day work, the Minister quoted figures which showed that for ’Whangarei and Auckland districts there , were 1338 relief workers on co-operative contract, wheyens there were only 79 relief workers on day work. All districts wore not equally as satisfactory. The average for New Zealand was 66 per cent on co-operative contract, and 34 per cent on day work. The percentage of relief workers on co-operative contract would have been much greater but for the men employed on the restoration of the earthquake damage in the Nelson and Greyrnoutb districts, wlie-re several hundred men were engaged in removing slips and other debris, which work could not he done other than by day labour. Tn the Stratford district, which perhaps Mr Poison had in mind, there were 99 relief workers on day work and 227 on co•operative contract.