RELIEF WORKS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 10, 11 July 1930, Page 9

RELIEF WORKS

RATES OF PAY ANOTHER DISCUSSION ; COUNCIL TO PAY 14s/Again last evening tho City Council discussed at considerable length the question of the rates of pay to be given relief workers. By a majority of 11 votes to 4 it was decided that the present rato of 14s per day should remain. Tho matter was raised by Councillor E. M'Keei!., M.P., in accordance with notice, when he moved: — That in view of tho increased subsidy paid by tho Government upon loans raised by tho City Council for unemployment relief works, award rates of wages bo now paid to all men engaged on standard works.

Councillor M'Kee'n said that to-day most of tho men who were seeking work were men who for many years had received standard rates of wages because they were worth t!: wages. Thero wore, ho knew, many 1 who were not capable of carrying on. ordinary labouring work. Ho did not ob; jeet to the council classifying the men and their work, but he did maintain that men engaged on standard streat works'and other necessary city improvement works, which would haVo to be undertaken in any case, should be paid the rate of pay to which thenlabour entitled them —the full rate. LEVELLING DOWN DISOOUEAGING. The motion was seconded by Councillor It. Semple, M.P., who said that the "levelling down", so far adopted for relief works was altogether a wrong policy in that it did not encourage a man to give his best. Councillor Semple 'went on to deal with many men, formerly skilled craftsmen, who, through the introduction of machinery, were thrown back on labouring work — tailors, musicians, and many more. Those men were now seeking a livelihood with the pick and shovel, though they were incapable of carrying out the day's work done by the man who Lad been long used to that work. Even in the field formerly held by the unskilled labourer machinery was coming, in—3oo labourers might be' displaced by one machine shovel. To thrust back the man who could give a sound day's work to tho level of the .man - who •was incapable was to break his heart, 'was to kill in him all incentive to giye his best; and since he could not voice his protest effectively there was another way by which he expressed his opposition to tho unfair treatment rendered him. He was not asking tho council to give relief workers pay for work which they did not fairly do; he asked that the men should be classified and that those- who could give full service should be given full pay. A CHANGE OF GROUND. Councillor M. F. Luckie referred to the majority decision of the council some weeks ago that men selected for the Buckle street job should bo given full rates of pay. At that1 time tho Labour councillors had made full use of the argument that men on relief works should be paid according to their ability to give service, yet now they came and asked that all unemployed relief'workers should be given full rates of pay. . Councillors M'Keeu and Semple: ■"We said nothing of the sort." Councillor Luckie replied that no matter what had been said the motion could mean nothing else. He, and every other councillor presumably, had received a communication from tho union organisation to the effect that the council had made a definite contract with its workers as to the rates of pay to be given, and now was breaking that contract by paying less than the agfreed on rates for standard •works. That was nonsense: there was no question of a contract in the works instituted by th,e council in an endeavour to provide temporary relief for men out of employment. The motion included all relief workers. UNDER-RATE WORKERS. Councillor M'Keen: "If I agree to amend the motion to make provision for under-rate workers will you support it?" "No," said Councillor Luckie. The under-rate provisions could only bo applied npon the application of the -workers themselves. Apart altogether from such aspects, tho council had come into the matter solely for the purpose of giving temporary relief to those who were unemployed, and it was for that reason that the men wero given under-rate pay. "If we pay the same rates the effect would be that we, as trustees to the citizens, will be faced with a permanent responsibility of keeping all tho unemployed employed at full rates of wages, regardless of whether they are worth those rates or not. Itia fatal from, every point of view. It is next to the dole, beeauso it will mean that a section of tho community will bo paid more, than wo know they are worth." Councillor W. J. Hildreth said that he would support the motion. It was wrong to ask a man who could earn 15s 4d per day to accept 14s per day on standard works. He suggested threo classes of workers: men who could do heavy navvying work; those who were capable of such works as tree planting, etc., and, a third class, who could carry nut, footpath, sand moving, and other light works. Ho quite agreed with what Councillor Semple had said of the bad effects of levelling down tie <-ood man to the same rate paid to tho man next him, who was quite incapable of doing anything like the same day's work. THE DIFFERENCE INVOLVED. Councillor C. H. Chapman, M.P., also supported the motion. He found some difficulty in restraining his feelings on the matter. The present rate of pay for relief work was 14s a day. The council was paying for relief work Gsd ■per hour, and the Government was paying Is Id for that labour, yet Councillor Luekic was opposed to the city paying 7 2-3d an hour to those engaged on relief work. Councillor Luckie: "1 said nothing of the kind." Councillor Clinpinan: "One c.ould gather no o;' :>r inference from Councillor Luckit .- speech." Another puhil to be remembered, said Councillor Chapman, was that tho men were only paid for the timo they actually worked. He thought the council would be wise in passing the motion put forward by Councillor M'Keen, as ho thought that in doing so the council would be acting up to the spirit which actuated tho late Sir Joseph Wn?'1. The council should not tako adv:: :<.gc of tho-prevailing unemployment to make the position of many working people any worse. Councillor T. C. A. Hislop said that he thought the main plea advanced by Councillor Chapman involved great deal of sophistry. The coin, i already had allocated the whole of its revenue; ho could not support tho motion. Councillor W.. J. Gimdin said they ■were mortgaging the.city's credit to do works they had no right to do. They were borrowing money without tiio satetmyeis' consent, but he maintained ftey trore doing right to alleviate dis-

tres's. He was tho last man to pay low wages, but ho thought this was notime to stand by award rales.

Councillor CD. Morpeth said that surely the reason the Government was paying the 100 per cent, increase on tho subsidy was that they should bo able to employ as many men as possible. It could not be said that relief work could be put on a parity with ordinary normal work. Surely tho reason for the Government handing over the money was that it should bo spread as far as possible and thereby relieve unemployment. Councillor G. Mitchell said he had always advocated -that a married man should be paid the award rate; He supported the standard rate of wage on the Buckle street job on the ground that tho men engaged wcro all skilled workers, and that tho council should pay for work done. It was a different matter, however, to adopt thgt standard for all works. He did not think the council would bo justified in passing the motion, and when ho said that his heart went out to, the married man with a large family who was being paid 14s a day. Times were such that all would have to look forward to a cut. Ho could not honestly support tho motion. Councillor T. Forsyth said he had agreed that standard rates should be paid oil Buckle street for men who could do full work, but the motion now proposed went a . long way further. What were standard works? A certain amount of money only was available and the principle to be followed should be the greatest good to tho greatest number, and that could not be done by increasing rq.tes for men who, could not give a day's work. To oiler full rates would be to hold out an inducement to all and sundry to join the ranks of the unemployed. ,lt was very commonly said that men on relief works were not exactly "killing themselves." Ho was quite against the idea of paying full rates-to all relief workers. i

WOULD MAKE POSITION WORSE,

"If I thought that this .ould give a solution I would vote for it," said tho Mayor (Mr. G. A. Troup), "but instead of giving a solution it would make it worse. What man who was getting less than 15s 4d would hesitate to give up his work and come to Wellington? What man receiving 15s 4d per day would trouble to look about for other work? Unemployment will never be solved if we pay full wages." In Australia tho Labour Government had imposed a tax of 3d in tho £ for the purpose of providing . funds for the employment of men out of work. The payment of 14s per day had much tho same effect; tho men were asked to take a little less in order that work might be provided for more men. Councillor Semple: "But that is a general tax. Here you aro singling out tho unemployed; it is unfair." The Mayor said that it was patent that the council could help a great many more,men at 14s per day than it could if 15s 4d were paid. Tho Wellington City Council in the past had shown a very fair heart in the matter. It had raised far more money for relief works than any other municipality in New Zealand —twice as much- as had tho Christchureh Labour council. Tho council had no right of selection of men; it was bound to take the men as sent by the Labour Bureau. Councillor Chapman said that the council's foremen did the selection by discharging men sent them. The Mayor said that this was done only in cases where there was loaling. "I am quite willing to agree to a man getting what he can earn," coneluded Mr. Troup, "and tho only way in which that can be done is by piecework or by co-operative labour. The council will agree to thaf, but if it is done it will mean that some men will not earn a living wage and some will earn more than a living wage, and, taking everything iato consideration, 14s per day is the fairest thing. . . . The council has not been niggardly in the matter of unemployment and rates of pay; we have been thoroughly consistent in our actions, and I think that the ratepayers will give us credit for it, but for us to encourage men to give up their-work-and come to us for relief would be to make the unemployment problem insoluble." Eeplying, Councillor M'Keen said that all men engaged on standard works should receive the standard rato of pay. Eegarding the suggestion that if the council paid the award rate of wages for all jobs men would not seek private employment, he would like to say that approximately 700 unemployed were registered at -the Unemployment. Bureau, and the council was engaging approximately 300 of that number. If the standard rato of wages were adopted how was that going to discourage the men seeking private employment. There was no private employment for them to seek. Councillor Mitchell's heart was beating for the married man with the large family, and yet he said ho was unable to support the motion. There was no consistency in that. The motion was defeated by 11 votes to 4, the Labour councillors and Councillor Hildreth voting "aye."