Workers Promised Square Deal

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 22, 27 January 1937, Page 3

Workers Promised Square Deal

Hon. R. Semple Discusses New Public Works lAIPOFTANT PROJECTS FOR MANAWATU An assurance that the men on public works, so long as they played the game, would receive every consideration from the Government, was given by the Minister of Public Works, Hon. R. Semple, when a deputation representing the district executive of the New Zealand Workers' Union waited on him last I evening. The deputation sought a pronouncement as to the probable extc of public works in the Alanawatu during the coming year, and was assured that major projects were under consideration. Though the deputation was numerically strong, the only principal speaker was Air. W. H. Oliver, of Feilding. The first request concerned the welfare of 13 Feilding men who for somo time have been ranked as casual railway workers. For the past two months, said Air. Oliver, the union has unsuccessfully tried to get these men into continuous work. They had been engaged on several jobs, proving their worth by completing in seven months a job scheduled to take twelve. They had had certain disputes with their foreman, and following a dispute on the last job it had seemed that headquarters in Wanganui were not prepared to engage the men. They were discharged shortly before Christmas, and although they had been promised work on a railway improvement job at Makino, this had not eventuated. The assurance that they would receive employment at Makino had come from Hon. Armstrong through the union secretary. That was tho point at issue from a union viewpoint; work promised and not yet given. A gang of Ataoris had been given the Alakino job. Tho 13 men had next been promised work at Church Hill on a road deviation, said the speaker. They arranged transport, only to bo advised the following day that there was no work for them, at Church Hill. In the past, the workers had met Mr. Hamilton on various occasions, and they knew he stood by his word. They expected 100 per cent, better from the Labour Government, and so far had been quite satisfied. No Tory Game. ” We are not playing a Tory game at all,” interrupted Mr. Semple as Air. Oliver spoke further of the difficulties the men had experienced. It was not the Alinisters that were complained of, said Air. Oliver; possibly it was an “understrapper” who had made a mistake. “If I find anything of that in the department under my control, there will be trouble,” said the Alinister. “I called my engineers together and told them that if anyone was found guilty of humbug, disloyalty, or treachery, he wold be looking for another job, and damned quickly. Wo have enough to do to fight this fight of ours without fighting treachery.

“If I know Air. Armstrong, and J think I do, I can assure you that if he has not yet fulfilled a promise made to these men, there is a reason why he has not,” continued Air. Semple. “I will discuss the matter with him as soon as I return to Wellington.” This satisfied tho deputation. Answering the inquiry as to what public works were likely to be available to engage tho men of tho district, Air. Semple said that the Sandon aerodrome would not be ready for a while until the survey was complete. In due courso it should absorb a considerable number of men. There was also the matter of the dispute as to the main highway between Shannon and Palmerston North, a dispute on which a decision would be given to the affected parties later that evening. Aloney was allocated for one route although not for the other as yet. The construction work, whichever route was decided upon, should employ a large number when it began. Deviation Mentioned. Air. Oliver pointed jput that a number of men employed seasonally at tho Feilding freezing works would shortly be registered as unemployed again. They wondered if the railway deviation would offer them any employment. “There are several big jobs under consideration for this district,” said Mr. Semple, “and the railway deviation is one of those to bo considered.' “You can take it from me that we will do everything possiblo to keep men off sustenance which, when they have got back into working trim, is degrading physically, mentally and morally We do not want the men to suffer that. A schedule is already being prepared of possible new public works to replace those now in progress when they terminate.”

Mr. Semple spoke of the great expansion of public works, with the number of men engaged increasing from 11,000 to 19,000 since he took over, the rates of pay increasing from something like 12s a day to nearly £1 a day, and conditions improving in every way. It had been necessary to organise the whole of public works, buying £300,000 worth of plant and machinery so that the ■ men could work decently. So long as the men did their: part, the Govern-

ment would do its share. He admired men who came in a straightforward way and asked for work. That was the essence of good citizenship.

Air. de Cleene voiced the dissatisfaction of men engaged on the Saddle road (north of the Manawatu Gorge) construction job. The job was exceptionally wet, and the men lost as much as 25 per cent, of their time. In the last payout the rates were so low that the engineer had added a penny to the scheduled rates to make something like a decent wage. The highest paid gang had had £l6 added in this way. The Minister expressed regret that he had not time to visit the job this morning, but promised that if Mr. de Cleene would immediately forward details of the men’s grievance to Wellington, the whole question would be promptly investigated.