CO-OPERATIVE MEN'S WAGES

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 271, 13 May 1912, Page 5

CO-OPERATIVE MEN'S WAGES

DEPUTATION TO MINISTERS. A deputation of three of the co-opera-tive workers at Whangamomona met the Minister for Public Works and Minister for Labor at Whangamomona during Friday afternoon. Mr. I'ilwanl I'.radley, the first speaker, said lie was a member of iv pang of six woiking mostly on river diversion south of W hangomomoua. They were not earning a living wage; the highest pay of the six men, working for five weeks, had been £0 10s. At the present time they were at river diversion. The engineers' measurements were quite correct, but a better price should be paid. Considering the price paid for food they were absolutely underpaid. Mr. Mulvaney, the next speaker, thought that they really fought to have the minimum wage of 9s a day guaranteed them. For the class of work they were doing, 10s a day was a fair minimum wage. Mr. Bradley gave the prices of eight articles which formed the basis of the necessaries of life. They paid 8d per loaf for bread, Is 4d per lb for butter, 8d per lb for meat, 3s Od for 281b of potatoes, 7s 3d for 501b of flour, 13s per bag for sugar, Is Id per lb for bacon, and Cs M a tin for kerosene. They were not able to meet the credit that was given them by the storekeepers. He considered that the Department should put the necessaries of life within their reach at a reasonable and not an exorbitant price. Mr. Nugent emphasised the fact that they did not wish to damage the cooperative system in any way. It was one of the finest system's that had ever been devised, and it was a credit to Seddon and Ballance. He for one did not wish to see private contractors brought again into the public works. They were all supporters of the co-operative system, and did not wish to do it any damage. But it was in thtir case simply a bad application of principle; it was a prostitution of a system. Mr. McCluggage' remarked that the County Council was giving 2d per yard more than the Public Works Department. The Hon Mr. Mac Donald said that he regretted to hear that the rate o* pay was not sufficient. He realised that men working away back on these work* were entitled to every consideration, and to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. He had now heard their side of the question, and he promised that he" would go into the whole matter very closely, to ascertain what svstem the engineers were working on, what wage was possible by an avfrage.workman in the class of. country and in the conditions., under which they worked. He\was familiar with the co-operative works in. his own district, and must say that there \was no complaint there from the Xnen, \kho earned from 8s to 14s a day., IrMt warg worth more to work this land than, the > men were getting, then they woulf /get more, and if in five or six weeks a gang of hard-working men could only make the amount "which the speakers had stated, then they were entitled to more. The system of co-operative works had been designed originally not with a view of injuring any man, nor of attempting to get out of a roan a shillings' worth more than he would earn under any other system. The system had been designed to give a living wage to men who for some reason or other were not able to obtain the average wage under contractors. The 'Government had decided that 9s was to be the minimum, payment to day laborers, and if it were shown thai men working diligently and reasonably well could not earn that amount then the system needed to be altered. As for the prices of stores, he recognised that in districts' like this, where freight charges were so heavy, storekeepers could not make great profits on heftrjrt goods, and he himself had suggested that the Government should make provision for storing these heavy goods which were necessaries of life 'so that the men on these works could obtain them at fair' prices. The Hon. Mr. Laurenson endorsed Mi. colleague's remarks.