RELIEF ALLOCATION.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 77, 13 March 1933, Page 6

RELIEF ALLOCATION.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —It was with great pleasure to see “Relief Worker’s'’ letter in your paper. What he states is perfectly correct, but what a surprise for us to-day when anticipating £1 for which to take to our wives to pay the rent, groceries, fuel, meat, and many other incidentals including insurance, u> which some of us are struggling to hang on, we had deducted irom our pay of £1 for the two days’ work 5/6, the amount being one quarter’s levy and fine, leaving us the terrific sum of 14/6 to meet our debts. Some relief workers do still try and endeavour to pay their way, but it seems that the screw is still being turned. Quite a number of us were hoping against hop» for a full allocation, namely £1 10/-, with which we would have paid our dole. Now, Sir, I ask the employed and other citizens, is it not time somo action was taken by them? Lip sympathy will not help us. Do they realise that it may bo their turn next? I will ask them to imagine taking home £1 for several weeks and the most important of all is that the relief worker has no reserve fund to draw upon,—if he had he would not be eligible for relief. The tragedy of it all is the statement made by the Minister for Unemployment in the House, to wit. that the funds of the board were in • healthy state, but it was conserving them for the winter. Our answer is that for many months it has been winter, and is still winter, and we will not be in a fit state physically or financially to stand the climatic winter. I sincerely hope that this appeal for action of the citizens of Hastings will not fall on deaf ears, because a hungry man with hungry wife, am 1 children knows no reason and acts likewise. —Yours etc., ANOTHER RELICT’ WORKER Hastings, 11/3/33.