SHARE IN CHRISTMAS BONUS

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 69, 14 December 1935, Page 12

SHARE IN CHRISTMAS BONUS

Unemployed Women MINISTER’S RESENTMENT OF A STATEMENT “it is altogether unfair and a gross misrepresentation of fact to say that the Government decided to include women in the participation of the Christmas bonus to the unemployed as a result of pressure,” declared the Minister of Employment, Hou. H. T. Armstrong, last night in a statement to a representative of “The Dominion.” “There was no pressure brought to bear upon the Government or the. Unemployment Board by an Auckland lady or by anybody else,” the Minister added. “I resent the Auckland statement that the Government was subjected to influence in making its decision to include unemployed women in the distribution of the Christmas bonus.” Tlio slinister explained that he had read in Hie “Auckland Star” of Thursday last a statement b.y slrs. M. B. Soljak that “as a result of pressure, women were to share in the Christmas bonus to Hie unemployed, and that all should register. It had been understood from the start of the compilation of a roll for women at the Auckland Town Hall that it should be the basis of any distribution such as was now proposed. The total on the roll exceeded 500.” Cabinet and Board's Policy. Commenting on that statement, Mr. Armstrong said: “This same lady communicated with me some days ago asking if women would be included in the distribution of the Christmas bonus, and I immediately replied to her telegram that the Unemployment Board liad not forgotten unemployed women and that provision had been made for the inclusion of women who were registered and eligible and who would participate in the bonus on the same basis as men. That communication was sent before the movement was made to register all these women in Auckland. The decision that women should share in tiie bonus was made by Cabinet and the Unemployment Board before any communication bad been received from Mrs. Soljak. Equality in Sharing. “As a matter of fact, neither the Unemployment Board nor Cabinet ever entertained any idea of leaving women out. sloreover, it was pointed out in my telegram to the Auckland lady, and also in several communications within the last few days, that only women who were registered at the time it was decided to grant a bonus and who had been on relief or in receipt of sustenance for a period of 13 weeks during the year would share in the bonus. That is exactly the same basis as applied to men who arc to participate in the bonus. There is uo difference in treatment at all as between men and women. To suggest that, after it had been decided to grant the bonus, women should register by the hundreds for the purpose of participating in it, is ridiculous in the extreme. Half the population in New Zealand would be registered if that were what the Government was going to do. “I want to say that I resent the statement that any pressure was brought to bear upon the Government by anyone,” slr. Armstrong said with emphasis. “Women were included in the bonus before this Auckland lady or anyone else had made representations to the Government. She must have known quite well from the communication she received from me that women whom she has been registering during the last few days were not going to participate in the bonus.”