UNEMPLOYED AND THE GROCERS' PICNIC.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20463, 5 February 1932, Page 14

UNEMPLOYED AND THE GROCERS' PICNIC.

TO THE IDMOE OF Tflfl rEESS . Sir, —Through the medium 'of your paper, I should like to draw public attention to a problem affecting the uu, employed until next Hondav. Hundreds of men are duo to be paid '.hair week's wages on Saturday morning, having com pleted their two, three, or four days' relief work. Saturday next, as every householder knows, is the Grocers' and Bakers' Picnics. Last Saturday was th* | Cliristchurcb City Council picnic, and the unemployed working fqr the Christ ehureh City Council were, for the lirit time, paid "on the Friday evening. rs'ov.', it is definitely stated by the foremen in charge of the different wards of the Christchurch City Council that no wages t.-ould be paid this week untii Saturday, which means that the unemployed, who at present exist on a mere pittance, will, after being entitled to a few shillings for purchasing the necessaries of life., be unable to obtain them until Monday. Actually this msuns that families whose bread-earners are among the unemployed, will be unable to buy even bread and butter, and allow me, Sir, to state, as one of the unemployed mentioned, that I shall go to work to-mor-row with nothing but a bottle of cold tea for my luncii. . 1 am sure that this will show the unfairness of tlie scheme of paying out wages. The City Council paid out early onco for their own convenience. Why not again?— Yours, etc., xf;ed the moxey. .February '4th, 193". [This question was referred to Cr ,1. W. Beanland, chairman of the Worl:a j Committee of the City Council, who t Btatcd that those men who were work I iug two and three days a woek were ! always paid on Fridays, finishing work jon Thursdays. Four-day men finished work at 4.30 p.m. on Fridays, and weru paid on Saturdays. Last week, at the request or a number of men who wanted to go to the Council picnic, the staff had gone out of its waj* to pay thein on the Friday. An extra staff ■ had been brought back for the purpose on Thursday night. Cr. Beanland said that ho had gone thoroughly into the matter, at the request of the men, but that He had found it almost impossible to pay workers on the name day as they fin-, ished work. One of the difficulties in tho way of paying them to-day for this week's work was tho fact that one oJ tho paymasters was on holiday.]