VERY LOW WAGES

Hokitika Guardian, 16 March 1932, Page 5

VERY LOW WAGES

FOR RELIEF WORK MEN ACCEPT 37/6 A WEEK. (By Telegraph—Pet Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, March 15. Forty hours-work for 37s 6d a week are the conditions under which, twenty unemployed married men of : Christchurch were offered work by the Un•.employmentj Board in cleaning out the ■jKjaituna River - for. the'A’.Wafrewa sCburttyiJpouncil. Eighteen of the men accepted the ‘conditions and left the city this morning by train. The amount of 37s 6d a week is the same as these men previously had been given for working three days weekly under the No. 5 Scheme. From this there will be deducted the cost of their food, but they will have free living quarters, providing their own blankets and cook- , ing their own food. They will, however, have the advantage of being in work confiriuously, and not for three weeks in every four. Trade union officials spoke to the men before their leaving, endeavouring to dissuade tiiem from accepting work on these conditions but only two of the men chose to accept their advice. ’ , ; . • ,!

According to one of the officiate, the men said that they wore in such an extreme state of poverty that they were forced to accept the conditions of work that were offered them,

A party of police were on the station in cage of any disturbance, but no action on their part was necessary.

CANCELLED WORKS TO RESUME. MR O’BRIEN AND MINISTER, i WELLINGTON, March 15. In the House today, Mr.J. O.’Brlen (Westland), asked Mr Coates if he will take immediate steps to have new authorities issued for those publio works in the Westland electorate for which the authorities were recently cancelled, thereby giving access to settlers and work for the unemployed. All of the works for which authorities were issued and later cancelled, lie said, were in nand. He stated that in one case only £6 of the vote remained to he expended. The men and the equipment for doing the work were on the ground, and the cancelling of authorites, which would compel the removal of the men and the equipment would seriously hamper the work of the countries affected.

Mr Coates, in reply intimated to Mr O'Brien that where work was in hand, or where a contract had been let, such instated; Where contracts or commitments had not bhen made, the authorities would be subjected to the Survey Department and himself before further authorities could be issued.-'

WORKERS STOOD DOWN?) , —— .4 WELLINGTON, 'March 13. The men on the relief works at «Johneonville have been stood down fsr a day. This follows on a dispute when; one man assaulted a works foreman, who told him to stand down. The result was that all tools were downed, and sixty men are nffected. The men sent a deputation to the Chairman of the Johnsonville Town Board, who told them to return to the job, but they declined, A deputation was arranged to interview the Miniß* ter in charge of unemployment, who, however, was not available to them. The job will be; open to the men in the morning, but the Chairman of the Town Board said that the man who assaulted the foreman will not be reengaged at JohnsonviPe. There had been friction over holding stop work meetings, he said, and the practice had to etop.