NAPIER RELIIEF WORKERS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 77, 13 March 1933, Page 9

NAPIER RELIIEF WORKERS

RESOLUTION REAFFIRMED. REPRODUCTIVE WORKS. A special general meeting of the Napier and District Centralised Relief Workers’ Association, under the chairmanship of Mr J. H. McDonald, was held in Napier, to discuss the diro need of the workless in the Napier district, and to formulate measures which would ease the burden of tho unemployed.

The secretary (Mr E. Mulvanah) said the question with which he wished to deal was not one relating to the recent reductions in relief pay, but of the immediate abolition of all forms of relief work, and the substitution of essential and productive forms of work at standard rates of pay. He dealt with the necessity of restoring the spending power of the people, not only for the benefit of relief workers and their families, but for the business community of Napier and the surrounding districts. He moved the following motion, which was carried unanimously:

“That this meeting of members of the Napier and District Centralised Relief Workers’ Association, re-af-firtns the resolution sent to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Employment on February 3, 1933: ‘That this meeting of relief workers of Napier and district, representing close on 2000 workers and their dependents, calls upon the Government at once to cancel all relief work and lieu thereof pay sustenance, as provided by the Unemployment Act, and that a copy of this resolution bo sent to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Enfployment. ’ And that a deputation, consisting of the Mayor of Napier, the Commissioner of Napier, the chairman of the Napier Harbour Board, the chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Rivers Board, the president and managing secretary of the Napier and District Centralised Relief Workers’ Association, interview the Prime Minister and the Minister of Employment, pointing out that there is sufficient essential and reproductive public work to he done, consisting of the Tntaekuri river diversion; the drainage, development and settlement of Napier Harbour Board endowment lands, totalling 7900 acres; the Kennedy road extension and the construction of the Breakwater harbour as decided by the Harobur Board, to engage not less than 2000 workers for a period of at least two years. And further, that this meeting calls upon the Government to amend any Act of Parliament, if necessary, to provide, for subsidies to be paid to any of the above-named public bodies for the above specified works, such subsidies to be paid into the general account of the aforesaid public bodies, and that all labour engaged on the above works shall be paid the standard rates of wages.’’