RELIEF CAMPS

Grey River Argus, 14 June 1933, Page 3

RELIEF CAMPS

FOR MARRIED MEN Grey Relief Workers’ Wives PROTEST TO GOVERNMENT. .Although married men in receipt ol relief from the Unemployment Board in Greyniouth have as yet received in notification that they nr ( . to go into Public Works camps, it is ampU clear, from the attitude of the Board in other centres. that it is only a matter of time before such notifi cation is re^-i \ cd. Accordingly the oral branch of the Unemployed Worker’s Movement has formed an ant'.’-amp ('emmittee. and yesterday afternoon a meeting of unemployed Workers’ wives and iine'mploycd women was held in the Lyceum Hail under the aus’ices of this Committee. Mr W. Walt presided over an at I iidance of twenty-three ladies. Mr .1. O 'Brien, M. P. for Westland was also present, and Mr I>. Magee act ed as minute recorder. The Chairman said that he was sorry that there was not a bigger at tendance but us it was the first attempt Io gel the women together in the light a.’aiiist the camps it must lie considered verv satisfactory. As Chairman of the Ant’rGamp Committee •of the Grey Uncnipluved he had been asked to convene jhe meeting. It was going to be a hard struggle for the men and women in the future [ art icularly the women. The Government had I minised a wane of £.3 a week in the camps, but it was only a promise. They were to work on Ihe contract system, and were to be paid only what the weakest man earned, and with the climatic eondilions on the ('oast it was ton chances to one that they would not be able to earn my thing like the maximum wage. The man in the camp would be alright, he would liaye a tire and plenty to pat. 'mt what about his wife :,n 'l family at home, they would be destitute, a man earning 30 - a week could not possi hlv send them enough to live on. and they would have to ap! mil Io the Mayor and the citizens of the town for assistance 1" help them. out. grfymouth allocations. Since October last Ihe Greymonlh allocations had been cut l<» the minimum. the two day men were receiving only 10/-. the three day IS/’ ano the four day 2S/6. which did not Mve them sufficient to buy food with, much ess feed ami clothe themselves ami (hi ii families. Therefore it had be' < ( iue necessary for them to apply to tin Mayor and the citizens of the town for asistance, and they had re sponded in a very generous manner. The rations received from the depot did not amount t»> very much singly but collectively it meant a great deal. If the Government was to increase the allocations they (the workers’) eoitlil mt their few shillings over the counter and buy what they wanted. Thi'.mghout New Zealand the local hoiliis were coining to the end of their resources as fur as |iiocidin‘_ suitable 'work for the unemployed was c-.uiceraed. In Gri ymloutli they were fortunate that the Borough Council ha.l plenty of work proposed, but if the Govi-rniuent, said that work was not |o be done, theiutllc men had

to shift out into (he camps, unit., they got the backing of the pt'Ol'Je of Lrcvmouth. Time and again representations had been made by the Council to the Unemployment Board tn increase the Greymouth allocations. I ami the Board had replied that they] had in ao wav been decreased, except the lo per cent. cut. but he. the Chairman. thought that thev had been reduced 75 per cent., and a member ot j the Board. Mr Bromley, had been! surl rised that rents in Greyniouth were so high. Now the Unempktyn Board had decided to hand over the whole unemployment problem to the I'ublie Warks Department, ns they would not risk the payment of sustenance without work and the diller ent labour offices t brou-limit New Zealand had received advice that the Wklisz.cv kn deoc v weKEo Unemployed were required in lhe country. cutting tracks into gold arcus, opening up scenic reserves. an State forestry. The speaker had been emploved on the latter, ami he knew what it meant. Then State forests were a vauable assert to [he

.oiintry and the linen employed on them should be paid regular wages. There were no Public Works in o: around Grevmouth. and the men would b G sent either to the’ Wilberforce Lewis Pass, or below I lari llari. It was up to the women to back the <’«’ fi.its to prevent their going. At the present time an anti’eamp ballot was being conducted in Greymouth, am! . so far i, had gone very favourably | v ii;. six men refusing to vote. If t he | n allied mon refused to go to eampj (lien thev would be treated as xolun l.ny unemployed. It was the women who were going to suflcr through the ermp system, and they were the ones to say whet-her it was right, and the men asked their help. He then asked Mt O’Brien to address the mectin-. M •• O'Brien had onh one voice 111 Parliament, but he had done his best. f,)i the unemployed throughout New Zealand and the West Coast. He had l.teii always open to deputations from ’: c workers, and had done his best foi tic TiieiA working on the Coast. MR O’BRIEN’S REMARKS. Mi O’Brien, tn his •opening remarks said that it was not with any feeling of pleasure that he was present at su< h a meeting, to protest against cer’ tiir. conditions of which thn Govern m< ut of ths country sought to impose uo( only on the single men, but on tlie married mon. and thus the women and their families. He, as member for the district, came in touch with some fairly hard cases, and yet the men were being bold to go into camp, or else they would lose their small al locations, which this year had never been the full, amount. It had been bi ought before his notice that a mar-

ried man with two children was being asked (o live on IG ’ a week. A man with a wife and four children had been asked lo go into camp for 3->, •; week. He had no vamp mpiipment. t iothes or betiding, and yet he had !'■' provide fur hinfself. and send nonm • i nuiigli l<> keep his wife mid cliildren >ut of tliai small sum. He. ihe speak ;i. has seen a balla-d pii in South Westland. Il was a very hard pi’, and lli.. . "in r.-i'-t price was J. • a yard but fir Hint lhe men .had to load i< into drays mid tip it ’he roads. Ii le.-ai him ii"w they made -I/- or 5/da>’. The I’nard were asking men in gu inti) cmiip I" work for three "r four davs al Hies,- rales. Il would lake 15 - a week 1" keep him. ami what would he have to send home?' He was going I" oppose camps ri'-ht through. If they made il so that the men worked in i-o’iifort. and guarani'' rd pt keep the wives and families at Lome, then the men would be ph used io go. but the guarantee was not there. His attention had been drawn to one vase where a man had a deli’ «aie wife, vne child, nad another ev’ ■'Ccted. vet he had been forced to tamp. His party had taken up the ind .’el. but they wer c dealing with a hard (,lo\eminent. 11 seemed quite popular at the present time to run down the unemployed. He hoped that the protest being made would no' fall on deaf ears, and if if was the intention of the unemployed to circu' late a petition, he hoped that it would l< w'dl signed. He thought that 1was a wretched thing to break up homes, ami only the homes of the un* • mployed. In lhe North Island a sim: ’ar thing had been done when the Government had closed down the •’Jis* borne railway. However, it was just doubt fill what effect the protest would lave, and he thought that a more de f’nitp protest should Il> made than was being done. S (1 l"ng .'is he working class allowed the exploiters io run th" country, the}- would have unemployment. hi a country like New Zealand, where thorp were bountiful supplies of everything if the people were to get the bare necessities. then every man in lhe country would work eight hours a day for lhe next ten years. In (-.inclusion Mr O’Brien expressed the hope that the protest bein. made here mid in other parts of New Zealand would be sue (e.-s'nl, and that the Government would not be able to three man am! wifi apart, especially whore the man was necessary in the home. ami li‘ wp? necessary anywhere where th«"e w( i e ( hildren or wife in delicate health. The Chairman said that they were \er, fortunate to hear Mr O’Brien The allocations in (JreyuKinth for tl.e past week had boon 12/- for th.” Ihrei'dav iii'on, £1 for the foui-day men, ami 7/G for the single man. Hie week being the * ‘ olliria I’' short time w< ok. but the previous week they had been xinly 10/-. 22/G and 35/-. which was about the average simp last Oe*

K.ber. Il a-peared that it was go ing to bp a very poor winter for the women of Groytnouth. At the meeting to be held in the Town Hall ad classes Of the conimunity would have an op poitunity to make their protest. (/ii speakers bein': invited, on e •'* tin married wxnneii present express* her disapproval of the eamps. said that her husband was in ill health and had beet! on a diet for two years. He was not going t<» the camp. Shi did not see why he should go. or able bodied men either, or why the ' uemploynient Board should send any one to camp without the approx al o I’a i bament. The Chairman explained that th" .non wished I lie woiiien to orgiuii.-c with them, and also requested tue Ladies present to see that their bus bands strengthened the organisation 'by attending the meetings of tliv| I'.w.jr.

THE RESOLUTIONS. The following resolutions were put tr the meeting and carried: —- li.t'- , the wives and unetni'loyed girls ul < revmonth. assemjded unanimously ' .ircide to form n lirunch of the Ln p|„ved Worker’s Movement ” and •tins'meeting of the >ives and un r.nphived girls of Greymouth strongly prote/t ngiiinsl the Government's -d , Inde in sending married men t'.: The first meeting of the women.', btmieh will be. held to-morrow after-

Demonstration at Masterton MASTERT'ON, .lune 13. Objection to the. conditions of ent plovinent of relief workers by the Mmterton County Council, led to a stop-work et.ing. and a demonstration of the majority of uueniploy ed men to'day. Mmut 300 Hirn | nrtwip.-ili d. am en masse on tl.e local bmL oll'icials ami voiced their grievances. , ~, t)l ,. da y a deputation repn seating the unemployed accepted the proposals made by the County tn settlement of differences. The men were fairly orderly a' tlmuoh a window in the County office thrown by one of the unemployed, was broken by a large s.otie alleged t m, .■>•> cxiM'cted to return -o The men n>e lxp<cicu work to-moriMW.