UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

Evening Star, Issue 21630, 27 January 1934, Page 22

UNEMPLOYED RELIEF

POSITION IN CONTIGUOUS BOROUGHS PLEA FOR INCREASED RELIEF PAY Staling that there existed an urgent need for increased relief, involving the elimination of the “ stand-down week ” in boroughs contiguous to the city, a deputation representing the districts concerned waited on the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon at the Grand Hotel. In introducing the deputation, Mr J. W. Munro, M.P., said that the need for an improvement in the position of relief workers in West Harbour, Green Island, and Port Chalmers was very real.

Mr T. IT. Harridgc (Mayor of West Harbour) said he lipped that Mr Forbes ns head of the Government would bo more sympathetic towards their requests than the Unemployment Board had been. Married men with two children were getting only 26s 4d a week for three weeks in the month, the average earned weekly, if spread over the month, being I9s 3d. Single men got only 13s 9d each week for three weeks in the month, while married men with four children received 39s Gd a week or 29s Gd weekly when the amount was spread over to take in the stand-down week. Actually the pay did not work out at this amount, so it should he realised how difficult it was for the people to pay for food, clothes, and a house out of the meagre allowance, it was realised that the’Government was out to do all it could to help, but it was thought that it did not altogether real-

iso that what it was doing was not enough in -regard o he disrics such as the deputation represented. They wore asking - for nothing that was not fair. The position was most worrying, and, as Mayor of West Harbour, he could say he would be glad to be out of it.

Mr Forbes: I can quite believe that. ■ Mr Harridgo went on to express the hope that the allocations would be increased to overcome the distress during the winter mouths. Many of the men seemed, to be losing heart, and if something were not done to give them sufficient work ho was afraid they might become a charge on the Government. Speaking on behalf of Port Chalmers, Mr N. Campbell said its position was somewhat similar to that of West Harbour. At one time “C ” class men were getting £7 10s a month, but now they were down to £5 18s 6d. Mr Forbes asked if allowance was being made for anything that might be earned outside of relief work. Mr Campbell: If they start to earn too much, outside relief work the Unemployment Board soon chops down on their relief pay. Even the £7 10s a month was insufficient without the cut. He went on to say that, apart from the payment of rent, which was only very slightly cheaper, the cost of living in these contiguous boroughs was the same as in the cities. It varied very little. In the more distant rural districts it was possible for men to get, say, a day’s ploughing now and again, and in Port Chalmers men sometimes got work in the foundries. In some districts, however, it was impossible to get anything at all.

Mr A. L. Burk (town clerk of Green island) supported the previous remarks, and went on to say that the people in his district were frankly not convinced that there was any need for the standdown week. The Hutt district of Wellington, which was further out of town than the boroughs here, got tho city allocation. He did not seo why they should be kept in the dark as to how the work should be allocated. Mr Munro said that he and Mr Jones had threshed tho matter out with' the Minister of Employment, and had pointed out that Green Island and West Harbour were continguous boroughs like Bt. Kilda, which got the same allocation as tho city. West Harbour was purely residential, and .Green Island largely so, while Lower Hutt and Poton'c, near Wellington, though not contiguous in the same sense, got the full allocation.

Thc Prime Minister said he did not know exactly the system the board observed in making its allocations between city and suburban areas, but, as a country representative, he did know that the country people got least of all. However, he realised that they had a better chance of getting regular work in the country than in the cities. As Mi Hamilton had stated, the difficulty was that of lack of finance. The Minister of employment was seriously concerned at the fact that in view of the seasonal work that should bo offering at the present time the number of registered unemployed was bigger than it ought to he. Therefore, with winter coming on, it might he that the position would he still worse. After paying a tribute to tbc local Unemployment Committees for the manner in which they were sticking to their tasks, Mr Forbes said ho would go into,the whole matter with the Minuter of Unemployment when he got back to Wellington and submit the points which the deputation had brought up. There were some points which lie himself was not quite clear on, and for his own information he would like to ascertain the position*