OTAGO LABOUR COUNCIL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3860, 6 March 1928, Page 61

OTAGO LABOUR COUNCIL.

UNEMPLOYMENT DISCUSSED.

The monthly meeting of the Otago Labour Council was held in the Trades Hall on Thursday, when the president. Mr A, C. Maclaren, presided over a large attendance of delegates. lhe question of unemployment was again discussed at length, several delegates who are closely in touch with the various industries expressing th e opinion that unless the Government or the local bodies did considerably more than they are doing at present to relieve the position, it would be more acute this winter than it has been for a great many years. It was considered that notwithstanding the bleak prospects, and notwithstanding the fact that already there were thousands more workers in the country than industry could absorb under the present arrangements, the Government still persevered with its immigration policy, creating unemployment, which it reluctantly attempted to relieve by relief work at cut rates of pay. The Prime Minister and his colleagues had repeatedly asserted, that the relief of unemployment was not the Government’s responsibility; but when, by its immigration policy, it interfered with the supply of labour, thereby aggravating the fundamental causes of unemployment, it became responsible for relieving the whole of the unemployment in the Dominion. Some time ago Mr W. Downie Stewart (Minister of Finance and Customs), speaking in defence of reduced rates of pay on so-called relief works, quoted Mr Philip Snowden as saying that the experience of Britain was that when men received ordinary rates of pay on relief works they would not search for other work. Mr Stewart conveniently ignored the difference between Great Britain and New Zealand, for the former wa« trying to rid itself of its surplus population, while tbe latter, by most deceptive propaganda and the expenditure of much money, was enticing British workers to come to New Zealand without

making adequate provision fcr employing and housing them when they came. About the time that Mr Stewart uttered his defence of relief rates the Government stated its intention of discontinuing immigration for a period, but it did not appear to have done so to any apprecable extent. Many other contributory causes of unemployment, such as tbe land policy, tariffs, and finance, were introduced into the discussion, the feeling expressed being that the Government had not attempted to relieve the situation bv removing a number of the glaring anomalies and impedi--meuts which accentuated the unemployment problem in this country. Generally, Mr Stewart’s speech of the previous evening was regarded as a confession of failure. According to him, private employers could not be expected to employ more men than their industries could conveniently absorb; the Government could do nothing, and local bodies could do nothing. What, then, was to be the outcome? The workers surely could not be blamed for refusing to repose confidence in the Government when one of its chief Ministers, in attempting to defend it, admitted its inability to deal with a pressing problem that materially affects the domestic life of the people. The council challenged the Minister to issue a comparative statement showing the cost of work done at relief rates of pay and th> cost of similar work done under similai conditions at ordinary rates. The council appointed Mr Robinson wait upon the Prime Minister during th< latter’s visit to Dunedin regarding the local unemployment situation. The Secretary reported that- he had attended the open industrial labour confer* ence in Wellington on February 9, which was called for tlie purpose of preparing fot the industrial conference which has beei called by tbe Government for March 27, He had been selected as one of the 21 delegates chosen to represent Labour al that conference, which would be one of the most important of its kind ever heli in New Zealand, as the Prime Minister had indicated that in all probability tbs findings of the conference would be translated into legislation during the next session of Parliament. He could say definitely that the Labour representatives would go to the conference determined to meet the employers with the utmost goodwill, and to discuss *the various questions on their merits.