WORKING FOR CHINESE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18991, 16 April 1936, Page 15

WORKING FOR CHINESE

'MAORI WOMEN'S PLIGHT CONDITIONS CRITICISED REVIVAL OF COMPLAINTS {Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. •' "The way in which Maori women arc working for Chinese is disgusting, ' said Mi W. A. Cairns at a meeting of the Papatoetoe Chamber of Commerce last night. "It is the duty of citizens to see that this vicious state of affairs is eliminated." He added that at present Maoris have no avenue of obtaining employment and were forced to earn a living working in the gardens of Chinese. The chamber resolved to obtain data from the Akarana Association before the next meeting and to do all possible towards improving the conditions. When interviewed to-day, the honorary secretary of the Akarana Association, ijr. George Graham, said that, several years ago a commission inquired into the working conditions of native women in market gardens. "The commission found the conditions very bad and made certain recommendations to the Government, but the Government lamentably failed to enforce the recommendations." continued Mr. Graham. "Practically nothing was done." Mr. Graham said that the position could not be put right while Maori •women were forced into such conditions by the discrimination shown by the Labour Department between Maori menfolk and pakehas. Unemployed Maori men were forced down to a lower standard of living and their womenfolk had to take whatever work they could get. "The Labour Department is not blameless in the matter," he concluded, "and a Labour Government has been in power for four or five months, but nothing has been done in this connection. 1 '