Aid Requested For Unemployed

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31628, 14 March 1968, Page 17

Aid Requested For Unemployed

“The long-standing willingness of New Zealanders to help their mates was a thing of the past,” the Trades Council representative on the Canterbury Organisation for the Unemployed (Mr G. G. Walker) told a meeting of the unemployed in Christchurch yesterday.

He said it was incredible that there should be any unemployed while 60,000 married women worked and 100,000 men had two jobs. "Today the attitude is: I’m all right, Jack, see you later. This is the Kiwi philosophy of 1968 as everyone tries, to keep up with the other,” he said. Mr Walker was chairman of the meeting attended by 45

men and three women. A show of hands showed that seven of the men were tradesmen.

The meeting carried a resolution directing the secretary of the Canterbury Organisation for the Unemployed (Mr G. E. Edmonds) to write to the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) and the Mayor of Christchurch (Sir George Manning) asking if funds could be made available from the residue of the old Art Union to secure gainful employment for people out of work.

Mr Walker said Sir George Manning had told him that money could be obtained from this source readily. If this was so, it could supplement the unemployment benefit and give men a full working wage for some worth while work. He said that it would be better for the Social Security Department to pay the bene fits to the City Council which could, make them up to normal wages in return for 40 hours work. "Soul Destroying” This would be far better than the soul-destroying situation of unemployed men siting at home day after day and going to town once a week to collect a Government hand-out.

He said that although unemployment figures were given as between 7000 and 8000, the number of people who had been unemployed at

some time or other during the recession haj been between 40,000 and 50,000. He said that the trade union movement opposed the attitude of the newspapers in headlining court reports referring to unemployed persons as being in trouble for stealing and the like. The inference was that the unemployed were the deadbeats, hobos and unemployable who refused to accept their responsibilities as citizens.

Mr Walker said there would soon be a joint meeting of the unemployed organisation and the Trades Council to ensure that union help was available when sought. He criticised the unemployed who failed to attend the meeting but considered a suggestion that the unemployed burn an effigy of the Minister of Labour as childish.

Mr Edmonds said businessmen and even workers with jobs referred to the unemployed as “down-and-outs.” C.0.R.5.0. Appeal He said he was glad to hear that the C.0.R.5.0. appeal had not been well received. C.0.R.5.0. began at home but while the aims of the organisation were commendable it must be remembered that there were “economic refugees” in New Zealand.

“I would ask the public more if they are prepared to give so much to overseas aid they at least give a proportion to their own people who are distressed. I appeal to political organisations to set up their own welfare funds,’’ be said.