FREEZING WORKERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 261, 18 August 1931, Page 5

FREEZING WORKERS.

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF.

ALLEGATION' OF UNFAIRNESS

(Per Press Association). , CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The attention of the Minister of Labour (the Hon. S. G. Smith), in his capacitv as chairman of the Unemployment Board, has been, drawn by the National Executive of the New Zealand , Freezing Workers' Federation to a dii- , ficultv experienced by freezing works ;. ~■ employees in obtaining relief, under the board's schemes. . -;-.•% Mr H. C. Revell (secretary of; ,%m ;.,,-., Federation) has written to- the Minis- ; ter as follows: V , ■ ' . : - ~.^.^ " I have been desired by the Na- , , tional Executive of the Freezing Workers' Federation respectfully to draw your board's attention to the unfair attitude of some of the local unem- ..., ployment committees toward workers,, particularly freezing works . employees. _ { ■-. "It has been frequently reported that men who have been employed m ,'. the freezing works dtuing the freezing, ,/ season have been turned down when - applying for work, the impression, being that, as they had been working in ;,. the freezing works and allegedly earn-, ino- big money, they were not entitled y itothe benefits of the scheme generally. ; "I am desired to point out to your Board that it is a mistake to say that, men employed in the freezing works earn big money, as the ot them do not earn, on an average tor the season, more than £3 7s 6cl per week. I have had supplied'' to me by picked men in the various works a statement showing the .actual time worked in each week of the season and the wages received, and I can assure* you that thevi are alarmingly low. "It is particularly unfortunate that, ■ these men are being penalised by some of the unemployment, boards in this, manner, because ..after all, the workers in the freezing industry render a great national service to the country, killing and preparing for export over nine million and a half carcases>of mutton and lamb, in addition to beef and .otto. Sit and they render this the country expeditiously and efficiently and it certainly is disheartenSg to these men to find themselves shut out from the various relief works simply because they works emmovees. I respectfully appeal to vZ Board to do* something -toward, removing this apparent bias. ■ • -' •