LABOUR CONDITIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 March 1939, Page 6

LABOUR CONDITIONS

SHOULD BE REVIEWED LONGER WORKING HOURS NEEDED. STATEMENT BY OPPOSITION LEADER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) TAURANGA. March 28. “If ever there was a time in our history when labour conditions should be reviewed in their proper perspective it is today.” said the Leader of the Opposition, in a statement in Tauranga last night. “There is legislation under which the Court of Arbitration may relax the restriction of hours in an industry if circumstances warrant it,” remarked Mr Hamilton. “The cause of humanity demands that those restrictions should be relaxed today. The Government has given a selfish precedent for the principle, but the people must demand that this should be a lead to the Dominion. Obvious and urgent necessity demands a relaxation of the harassing restrictions.

“Unfortunately, the Government will not give this lead, though to save its own skin it has been quick to relax a restriction to secure quick results from workers. Because there is no such lead there is acute hardship among our people, and the Government’s negligence is past excuse. “Why not carry on from the precedent set by the Government when it recently relaxed the conditions in the building industry on such jobs as the Centennial Exhibition buildings and the new Social Security Building? Why should the Government stand by and see the people is presumes to be championing living in conditions varying from the great inconvenience of overcrowding to the degrading squalor of hovels? These conditions exist, and must be met. It must not be overlooked that large sections of our people have to work longer, hours than 40 a week because of the demand for the welfare of the community. Only 60 to 70 per cent of union award workers have a 40-hour week, and farm workers have no restrictions of hours. “Anyone can realise how much it would mean in relieving the situation if the hours of work in the building industry were extended to 44 a week even. The hardships of today demand this.

“Why have we not heard anything about it? In every country in the world whore efforts have been made to provide more leisure for the working man it has always been conceded that, where leisure is carried to an excess which creates hardship, a little of that leisure must be given up ungrudgingly. That is a policy based on practical Christianity. If we are normally to rearm our people in the cause of good government as opposed to class government, then such principles underlying community wellbeing must be realised.

“The whole of our housing legislation must be overhauled as well-. We have legislation today perpetuating slum areas. Thousands of people are living in premises condemned as a menace to public health, and under the present methods their outlook is blacker than ever.. I am not going to be sidetracked by. either abuse or a parrot-like comparison with the depression in my determination to make the Government face the problem. *State housing may have much to commend it from the Socialist’s point of view in building a nation of rentpayers. “No doubt, too, it will be music to the ears of the Government to hear some day the squeals of people approaching the evening of their life who have to pay the whole of the’ Social Security provision, and mote, in-rent.

HOURS WILL NOT BE INCREASED. MR SAVAGE’S REPLY. WELLINGTON, This Day. “The Government has no intention of taking any action to increase hours of labour,” said the. Prime Minister, Mr Savage, when referring last evening to the suggestion of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Hamilton, that hours of work in the building industry should be extended to 44 a week inorder to relieve the housing situation. The Prime Minister said that the arrears in building of all descriptions were largely because of the policy pursued in the'past by the Government to which Mr Hamilton and his associates belonged. Mr Savage said that Mr Hamilton seemed more anxious to extend hours of labour than anything else. There would be more houses built in New Zealand in the next 12 months than ever before in a similar period by the Government with which Mr Hamilton was associated in the past; he need not worry about that-. "The Government realises its obligations so far as housing is concerned,” said Mr Savage. "We have a better organisation than has ever existed in the history of this country. We are not satisfied any more than Mr Hamilton is with the number of houses built. The Government has made tremendous progress in providing homes for the people, but not enough to overtake the arrears. Perhaps Mr Hamilton can search his own conscience and see what part he and his colleagues have played in this connection. “There are arrears in every class of building, including schools and teachers’ residences. What can be more important than the provision of these, for schools and teachers’ residences came a good second in importance after dwellings. Public buildings have also been allowed to fall into arrears to such an extent that we have not enough of them for the country’s requirements.” Mr Savage said that in order to speed up building construction the Government had had no alternative but to go to other lands to obtain men. It was not possible to train men fast enough to overtake arrears. It was worth while asking Mr Hamilton what part he and others associated with him had played in bring about the present state of affairs. The men engaged on the construction of the Social Security building agreed to work under certain conditions because of the special circumstances that prevailed. To think about taking advantage of the present situation to increase hours of labour is to think about something that L not going to happen.”