Young Women Teachers In Serious Plight

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6624, 10 August 1931, Page 8

Young Women Teachers In Serious Plight

LACK OF EMPLOYMENT. AUCKLAND, Aug. 8. The serious plight of young unemployed women teachers was emphasised at a meeting of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Education Institute. The ruling given by Mr. Justice Herdman that the Education Board has no power to dismiss married women teachers has been a keen disappointment to ex-students of the Training College, who had hoped that 54 teaching positions now held by married women would fall vacant, and it has been decided to communicate with the Prime Minister, Mr. Forbes, the Minister of Education, Mr. Atmore, and local members of Parliament, urging the need for special legislation to give the boards power to dismiss married women now in the service.

‘“The position is becoming desperate for us,” said the teacher who had presided at the meeting. “The statement of the position shows that there aro now 183 women without permanent positions; 70 are employed in relieving positions, and more than 60 have received no work at all this year. It is estimated that when the substitute and probationary assistants are released at the end of the year, the number of unemployed teachers will bo swelled to 300. We have no personal grudge against married women as teachers, but we do think that those who have husbands able to keep them should make way for single teachers.”

He said that the dismissal of married women from the service would go a long way towards solving the problem.

Several cases of necessity were quoted. One family of three had had only 21s for food for a month. One daughter, a young teacher, had applied time and again for positions, but without success. The father had sought in vain for work. Reference was made to the case of another young unemployed teacher without parents, but who had an invalid sister and two younger brothers dependent upon her. In another case a girl and mother were entirely dependent upon the slender relief wages of the father.