A COMPLAINT DENIED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLV, Issue 10167, 23 July 1924, Page 4

A COMPLAINT DENIED

SINGLE VERSUS MARRIED. UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM.. A married man called at the “Guardian” office this morning and expressed views regarding the amount of unemployment in the town. He asserted that the labour agents were not proper.' judges of the situation. He himself was; out of a job, and he stated that the tendency on Government and local body contracts was to employ young single, men, and that moreover these young: single men were from outside In order to test the complaint the' “Guardian” referred' the matter-to the 1 official sources concerned, and the replies serve to show that there is noground for the statement that preference'is being given to single men. Mr W. M. B. Veitch, engineer in-' connection with the telephone installation work, stated that the complainant was entirely wrong. He* showed to the reporter the engagement list, which provided a column to i contain particulars of the conjugal state of tlie applicant. In all cases preference was given the married men,, but it‘did not end at this.. If ,an© man had more children than another, he received first consideration. The fact: that a man had to support his parents or others in addition to his own family was also taken into account when dealing with ■ applications. Mr Veitch, stated it was true that there was a. number of single men on the job. A, number of them had had long experience of this class of work, while others, who had been working here since the scheme commenced, had gained valuable experience, and it was hardly likely tliat the Department should be expected to dismiss them. He assured the reporter that no single man was being engaged unless there ivere some very sound reason for so loing. Tlie majority of the men on--, :he installation work were married.

j With regard to the Power Board operations, it was stated by the chairman and the engineer that the nature of the work, a good deal of which was in connection with pole erecting and wiring, demanded the services of young, active men; older men wer© not always temperamentally suited to thework in the air. Recently the foreman employed a married man, and being young and active he was fitted for the job. So far as ordinary labouring work was concerned, the board’s officers engaged married men in preference tq single men. It was claimed that wherever possible married men were employed, but the experience was that a man over a certain age was not suited to work in the air. The board was out to gi.ve everybody fair consideration.