UNEMPLOYMENT

Southland Times, Issue 20832, 22 July 1929, Page 8

UNEMPLOYMENT

BELIEF MEASURES FARMERS NOT SATISFIED WITH MEN EXPERIENCES RELATED The unemployment question came up for discussion at the monthly meeting of the Southland executive of the Farmers’ Union on Saturday and several members related their experiences in attempts to provide relief, some maintaining that many of the unemployed were not prepared to help themselves and would not take work in the country at reasonable rates while there was a possibility of obtaining relief work in the towns at 14/- a day. The secretary (Mr A. L. Adamson) stated that all members of the union had been circularized and requested to advise the Unemployment Committee of any work that might be available to assist to relieve the present serious position. He had received several replies which he had forwarded, but beyond this he did not know what the response had been. Several members suggested that the situation was not altogether satisfactory from the farmers’ point of view. One of the chief difficulties was that higher wages were available in the town than farmers could possibly afford to pay. After a discussion in committee open meeting was resumed and Mr. J. J. Crampton said a young man had been offered gorse cutting at a certain price, but he had thrown up the work and said he could not make money at the contract price, although an older man had been able to make good money at the same work at the same price Here was a case of a young man who was not prepared to do what a middle-aged man would do. In such cases it practically devolved on the farmer to pay the man’s fare out to the work and Tiack to town again when he threw up the job because he could get 14/- a day on relief work. Mr T. McCann said that 10/- a day was all that farmers could afford to pay for labour. Mr T. Major reminded the meeting that when he had waited on the previous meeting of the executive, Mr John Gilkieon had asked the farmers to give the men sent out a chance and had stated that if any did not prove satisfactory, the Unemployment Committee would not Undertake to do anything more for them. The president (Mr R. Sim) said that the disease at the root of primary production was that the producers could not afford to pay the same wages as were available in other industries. Mr T. Couser suggested that the president and secretary should frame a resolution embodying the views of the meeting, but this was not supported and the discussion dropped. THE MAYOR’S FUND. Additional donations to the Mayor’s unemployment fund are acknowledged below :—

J. Bath and Sons’ Employees . . £3 10 0 Staff of Royds Bros, and Kirk 2 4 0