WILLING TO WORK

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 98, 16 December 1931, Page 6

WILLING TO WORK

statements denied UNEMPLOYED MEN DEFENDED BY CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE FARMERS SOMETIMES TO BLAME At a meeting of the Rotorua Uneihployment Relief Committee held on Monday night,. the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson, replied to statements recently made regarding the unwillingness of unemployed men to take farm worlc Mr. Jackson stated that a recent paragr'aph regarding the difficulty experienced hy a farmer in ohtaining men for hay making was likely to convey a totally wrong impression. The great majority of men on relief were only too glad to obtain work of any kind. So far as the complaint voiced by this particular farmer was concerned, he had asked for the men at 11.45 a.m. on a Saturday and had heen told that the men could be obtained in the afternoon. The men were obtained, and were available for the farmer to pick up on the Monday moming. The great majority of the men were only too willing to work and already a considerable number of men had gone to farmers under the 4A scheme. Mr. Jackson added that he had employed several relief workers himself and had found them quite satisfactory. It should be remembered that it was not always possible to fill all quirements, although it was nearly always possible to do so. There were cases of men who would not take jobs, and others were not physically fit to do so. Cut Out of Relief Already, 38 men had been employed locally under the 4A farm scheme, together with eight who had been similarly placed at Mamaku and two at Tirau. Four men under he scheme had left jobs and four had been offered and had refused to take work In these last cases, as the committee had reason to believe that the men were able to do .farm work, they had been cut out of all further relief. The case was not so unfavourable to the relief workers as might appeai from some of the observations which had appeared in the Press, said Mr. Jackson, who stated that he personally had been responsible for most of the men sent out. He had personally investigated all cases and could assure the committee that the fault did not always rest with the worker — the farmers were sometimes not without blame themselves. The schemes were open to abuse, and some members of the farming community were not above taking advantage of the fact Cases had come under his notice where applications for men had been made and although they had appeared to be in order at first, it had been found afterwards that men had previously been employed by farmers who desired the relief labour to take its place. Cases of farmers who were in a position to pay some wages, endeavouring to obtain unemployed men for food and shelter only, were not fair to the public who subscribed the funds. Where the farmer was able to do so, he was expected to pay something over and above the amount paid by the board.