BELIEF WORK.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19887, 26 March 1930, Page 10

BELIEF WORK.

CONTRACT AND DAY

WAGES.

DISCUSSION BY FARMERS* UNION.

[THE PEBSS Special Service;]

Wellington. March 23

The present system of unemployed relief was criticised by several speakers at the meeting of the executive of tli6 New Zealand Farmers' Union today, and the was made that men engaged on day work were not giving full value for the wages they received. The chairman (Mr W. J. Poison, M.P.) said that while the public were under the impression that the unemployed were being put upon contract work, that was only partially true. A very considerable proportion of the men tterd On day work, and nothing but day work. He himself was familiar with large works on which not. a solitary contract had been let. He d»d not think it was right that the public, and the labour people themselves, shotild have the' impression that all the unemployed were on contract work, and that some of them could only earn os or 7s a day. The fact was that gangs of men were earning 14s a day. and were gettina time off for morning and afternoon tea. The amount of work that was being done by certain big unemployed gangs was remarkably less than the work that was being done bv small gangs working under contract. A delegate ventured tlieojpinicn that many of the men were simply killing time. . Mr Poison said that one particular iiistaftce had been brought to his hoftice. He had been informed by a reliable authority that a party of Dalmatians, workifig oh contract, were turnftig out metal at IBs a yard; under identical conditions a party of uliemjildyed were doing similar work at a cost of £2 ICS a yard; Th;t Was an absolute fact, and was typical of many cares. . , . ... A delegate said it was obvious tnat w&rk provided for the relief of uneihfiloved mu*t be more expensive tl an ordinary work, as it was created not for the sake of getting a job done* but for the s£k% of providing men with H. M. Rushworth, M.P., said that 6rie.wa¥ df getting ojrer the difficulty might be to list only contract iobs as relief Works. The fact could not be forgotten that there were many men who were unsuited for work involving a bi.e phyrical effort. _ A classic example of that was provided by musicians who had been thrown out of employment. Unemployed relief was a most unsatisfactory business -altogether! ihd the best that could he said df it was th;t it was better than charitable aid —how much better it was difficult to say. So far as the discussion was concerned it appeared tb him that a strong case bad bean made out for some system of unemployed in-tii-arice. It tfas useless to criticise the present system , lt was possible to suggest something in its plfcce. The fact of the matter was tW, they lif>d unemployment, and t-ne 'b»d +f > tackled. as men could not U allowed ttf Starry The exeShltiv* pi-oceeded to dispuss other matters.