"MARCH OF UNEMPLOYED"

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22487, 4 February 1935, Page 2

"MARCH OF UNEMPLOYED"

AN EXAGGERATED STATEMENT TWO RELIEF WORKERS SEE MAYOR GRIEVANCES AT NORTH TAIERI CAMP A good deal of speculation was aroused on Saturday morning concerning the march of unemployed on the Town Hall, which a member of the deputation that met the deputy chairman of the Unemployment Board (Mr W. Bromley) on Friday had avowed was being organis. d by the relief workers of the North Taieri afforestation camp. In the absence of any definite particulars regarding the character of the demonstration or the number of those taking part, a certain air of mystery attached to the whole affair, a fact which lent credence to any rumour that was circulated. When two very inoffensive men walked up the steps to the Town Hall no one took much notice,'and it was only when they asked to see"-the Mayor that it was realised that this was "the march of the unemployed." Nothing could have been more reasonable than the attitude adopted by the two men, who, in an informal exchange of viewpoints, put before the Mayor the position in which they had been placed by • the redui tiohs in the amounts of relief pay that were being suffered by their fellow-workers at North Taieri under the Unemployment Board's "new scale of payments. They were frankly amused by the statement that an organised march had been arranged, and before they addressed themselves to their complaints one of them referred to it. "I see," he said, "that Mr J. W. Munro, M.P., stated yesterday that there was going to be a march on the Town Hall. I don't know where he got that idea from. All that has happened is that two of us were asked to come and see the Mayor."

THE DEPUTATION'S COMPLAINTS The position which they placed before the Mayor was largely that traversed by Ors M« Silverstone and F. Jones at Friday's meeting. As the result of the new scale of payments, they said, all the workers at the camp had suffered a loss in their total incomes for the month. These losses were particularly severe when compared with the position of. the men working in town, and the following figures were submitted as the new rates of monthly payment, the figures for the town workers being given in parentheses:—B class £4 14s 6d (£4 16s), C class £5 10s (£5 12s lOd), D class £6 (£6 % Bs), E class £7 Is 9d (£7 4s), F Class £7 7s (£7 12s), Compared with the old rates the E class men had .suffered a loss of 18s 3d per month. The fact was also stressed that the married men in camp had to main* tain two homes, and the allowance of Is per day for camjp work was not sufficient to compensate for this. The second point that the men had to oinake was that in some classes the •workers had to put in an extra day or a portion of a day in camp after they had completed their full fortnight's work in order to make up their time, and they wished to know if arrangements could not be made to have these extra days worked in the city, as was done formerly. Certain adjustments in the system of payments were also asked for, the deputation stating that when a relief worker could get his payment in a lump sum he could often make it go further than when it came to him in small instalments.

Mr F. Jones, M.P., said he took it that the men would be quite agreeable to await the result of Mr Bromley's investigations. Mr Bromley had told the deputation on Friday that he could see no reason why the previous custom of allowing the men to work their extra days in the city should not be reverted to. If that were done, the trouble regarding the method of payment would probably be adjusted. The last request which the deputation had to make was that transport should be provided to enable the men in camp to return to their homes for the weekend. Under the present arrangements those who wished to spend the week-end at home were compelled to walk from the camp into the city and back again on Monday morning.

MEETING TO DISCUSS POSITION The Mayor, promised that he would bring this matter before the Reserves Committee. The City Council had previously given consideration to it, he said, but it was not then in a position, to grant the desired transport. However, the committee would go into the matter again. The Mayor added that a meeting had been called for Monday to discuss the position of the men, who were definitely stated by Mr Bromley to be in a worse condition'financially than before, and see what steps could be taken to improve their lot.