EXCUSE FOR WAGES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 192, 16 August 1939, Page 11

EXCUSE FOR WAGES.

MANY RELIEF WORKS

MR. GOOSMAN'S CHARGES.

WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE.

(By Telegraph.-—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON', this day. Accusing the Government orf promoting relief works that -were nothing more than an excuse for paving wages. Mr. VV. S. Gooeman (National, 'VVaikato) made an aipi>eal in the House of Representatives last night for cessation of a system that encouraged men in laziness and was calculated to undermine the moral fibre erf the nation.

He said the people of the country generally were beginning to realise that the system of high taxation and wasteful ex(>enditure brought in by the Government could not continue. This applied particularly in the case of work that was fceing (promoted to keep seasonal workers in jnih* durihrr the off season. Members of the Government who Ibelievecl that seasonal workers in the freezing and preserving industries received low wages bad had "the wool pulled over their eyes."

The Year Book showed that a total of 7835 workers were engaged in this class of employment and that they had received £2,188.102 in wages during the past season. In this figure there was sufficient wages to pay every man, woman and girl employed in the industry £5 7/6 a week for f>2 weeks in the year, not merely in the season when the works were operating.

Mr. D. VV. Coleman (Government, Gisborne) : That includes managers and bosses.

Mr. Goosnian: There is only one manager to each works, and you must be bankrupt of argument if you put up that story.

He added that the figures showed that the lowest paid butcher last season received £508 4/(5, while the scale ranged, as high as vKS() and the men had worked less than 3f> hours a week. After receiving these wages men had fallen l>a:'k on the State for additional work in the off-season.

In Ohristchurch the Government was putting these men to work in making hiking tracks on Cashmere Hills, went on Mr. Goodman, who added that lie had r-een many relief works that cost more in transport charges than the job itself. Srone of these jobs were nothing more or les-s than an excuse to pay wages. There was no justification for wasting monev in that fashion.

Mr. A. S. Richards (Government. Roskill): Are you accusing the men of being loafers? Mr. Goosnian: T am not blaming the men. I am accusing the Government of maintaining a system that breeds laziness and does no good for the men or for the eountrv.

He also said that the output from freezing works and preserving fell l>v £45fi.7t>2 last year, while wages were increased bv £322-840. This left £134,952 to be shared by the owners of the factories and the farmers. The men had worked a short week with no work on Saturday afternoons or Sundays for a bigiTer share of the bargain, while the farmer had worked all hours all day every week in all weathers.