RELIEF WORKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 881, 14 October 1922, Page 13

RELIEF WORKS.

Dear "Truth," — -It is a strange fact, but nevertheless true ; and one which seems to have escaped the attention of interested people, that the\ wages on relief works have been 10s per day for the last five pr ten years, and have^npt been raised 'n proportion, to the cost of living during that period. Presumably "relief works" /are more m the nature of "charity" on the /P part of the Government. Can sjnyone' explain why the same amount ol road vvo'rk done. by the relief workers at 10s per, day is done by the "Cockle friends" of the Reform Party at 18s per v day or more on contract m the summer time? Further, the bad conditions of the relief Workers are appalling. A relief ' worker when first arriving at the relief camp, 'oftentimes walking 10 or 15 miIQS to reach there, lias to make his own bed, consisting of ferns and sticks. Then he has to walk a mile to work and a mile back from the camp through mud knee and ankle deep; also he has to cart water and firewood. As previously mentioned, the wage is 10s per day, while there is lost time for wet weather. Out of v this miserable pay . he has buy clothes, boots, food, etc. It was told to me by an engineer on certain relief works that the pay was to be lowered to 9s Bd* per day, but evidently, , for political purposes, this reduced' pay did not come into operation. It is high time something was done to remedy matters. I wo aid suggest that the pay for single m^n be raised to 14s per day and for married men 16s per day. If the Massey Reform Party expect to get "the votes of the relief workers the method is m. their own hands. Another fact which has, I believe, not Deen. mentioned m . the papers, is m regard to immigrants. It has been said time and again that jobs are found for immigrants by the Government while colonials are left m the cold. This, to my knowledge, is true, and here let me add the astonishing fact that there are hundreds of immigrants employed on relief works. I know of a relief camp myself which is composed largely of immigrants- In view of this astonishing- fact is it not high time immigration was stopped, at least temporarily? There are still hundreds of men out of work (colonials), and yet the Government e has the audacity to bring these "homies" out and put them on relief works and leave; colonials starving, — I am, etc., COLONIAL..