RUNANGA UNEMPLOYED.

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 June 1936, Page 12

RUNANGA UNEMPLOYED.

[TO the editor.] Sir,l wish to draw the attention o£ the general public, through the, “Star,” to the deplorable state of affairs in regard to unemployed, and also employment in the Runanga Borough. The ordinary single unemployed men receive no relief at all in any shape or form. Yet the State miners, both married and single, were receiving intermittent work on account of short time worked at the mines, a few weeks ago. During the past few days a Public Works’ job has been contemplated on the'Grey-West-port highway. The employees are being selected from the unemployed youths under 20 in the Runanga Borough. Now, there are quite a few single men in this borough, who have been registered unemployed for six and eight weeks or more. They do not receive any relief at all; nobody bothers about them. How are they to pay the unemployment levy when they are out of work? Are they not entitled to some compensation, considering that they have been paying the levy all the time? When work now becomes available, they are passed by, the work being given to lads who do not. pay any levy at all. Due to the creditable efforts of' oitr Mayor and Town Clerk, the registered single unemployed men have become eligible for the projected work, but in spite of this the younger lads are being given work first. There is something wrong with the “works,” when the poor single man has to keep walking the streets, with the bitter knowledge that others have been granted work for which he should have first preference. This is truly a weird and wonderful state of affairs in the country, and it wants remedying badly.—Yours, etc., “JUSTICE.” Runanga, June 15.