PRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT

Evening Star, Issue 19713, 14 November 1927, Page 9

PRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT

POSITION IN DUNEDIN APPEAL TO PREMIER The following letter 1 1 as been forwarded to the Prime Minister (Mr J. G. Coates) by Mr J. Robinson (secretary of the Otago Labor Council): — “lam instructed by; the Otago Labor Coqncil to appeal to you on behalf of the unemployed workers of this district, whoso numbers aro about to be increased considerably by reason of the fact that the Dunedin City Council, having exhausted the funds raised for the relief of is forced to call a halt in the 'meantime. The City Council lias already spent something like £IO,OOO in relieving unemployment, and although, out of a desire to save many unfortunate families from suffering, wo are urging it to continue its good work, wo feel that it has already done more than it should have been asked to do.

“T am given to understand that the council is about to commence the construction of a dam at Waipori, but as at least two months will elapse before men can be employed on that work we trust that you will extend your local public works immediately in order to absorb the men who are about to b® discharged from the corporation relief works until such time as the Waipori dam can take them off your hands. “There is no private employment to be obtained in the district; those who have been, receiving only relief rates of pay can savo nothing to enable them to remain out of employment; there are many who have not been able to find work of any kind, and unless something is done speedily hundreds of men and their families will be in a desperate plight throughout the Christmas season.

“ We hope, therefore, that the Government will rise to the occasion, and ■while it is considering (as I am told it is) a scheme for the relief of unemployment generally throughout New Zealand it will provide means to enable us to relievo at onco the many pressing cases at onr door.”