Conditions in Napier

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 160, 2 April 1931, Page 11

Conditions in Napier

Sir, — A. Press Association message which appeared in Hawke’s Bay papers on March 25 stated that work could bo found for all male refugees. This statement, according to the message, was made at a meeting of the Relief Fund Central Committee of Wellington. Such reports as this and others appearing in various papers to the effect that there is plenty of work in Napier are very misleading and contrary to fact. They are creating hardship and suffering on the local men, also on men who have read these reports and came from other towns to get this work. It may be true that there is plenty of wort' in Napier, but why not explain the position as it exists? The fact is that our local workers are right up against it, which must be obvious to anybody when they realise that these men, or many of them, were unemployed and were on and off relief works for the past 18 months prior to the quake. Then the shake of February 3 broke all their crockery and glassware, furniture was damaged, all chimneys were down, and the home generally knocked about. To help restore these needfuls and keep the home going a married man with dependants is allowed to earn the princely sum of £2/16/- per week, a married man with no family receives three days per week, £2/2/-; single men (in some cases keeping a widowed mother), two days per week, £l/8/-; youths under 20 years not allowed to work, which creates a further burden to his father, who is" in receipt of this magnificent sum of £2/16/-.

The foregoing applies to all work coming under this unemployment scheme and administered by the Unemployment Board and apparently their rules in some instances must be abided by. Here is an example of the position in Napier, admitting that there is plenty of work to be done; 20 single men are picked to start work Monday morning, 40 more single men must be kept in reserve, so that 20 of them can take the first twenty’s place on Wednesday morning, and the remaining 20 to take the second twenty’s place on Friday morning. In other words to keep 20 single men in work for two days 40 men must be kept idle for four days. The same applies to married men in their respective proportions, and this scheme is now in operation on our most urgent works, such as sewage and waterworks. This work requires men who understand this class of work; yet the Unemployment Board in its wisdom under the No. 5 scheme will not allow these men to work more than three days or four days each week, and probably the men sent to relieve may consist of clerks, chemist’s assistants and so on, who have "never performed this class of work. How can progress be. made when such procedure is adopted?—l am, etc.,

G. BROWN, Secretary, General Labourers’ Union, Napier. Napier, March 27, 1931.