Relief Work a "Mere Existence”

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 102, 21 July 1927, Page 18

Relief Work a "Mere Existence”

UNEMPLOYED COMPLAINT CONDITIONS AT WHANGAMATA “Accepting Government relief work has not provided me with a way out of my difficulties. At the end of the first fortnight at the Whangamata relief works I was 18s 6d in debt; that is to say, at the end of two weeks it had cost me 18s 6d more than I had earned to merely exist.” TN voicing this complaint to a representative of THE SUN, Mr. Arthur Wells, an Auckland resident, who had accepted employment at the works, also stated that the living conditions barely provided for mere existence. TEN-MILE WALK He stated that on arrival at the works wet and tired after a 10-mile walk the men were allotted tents, no provision of any sort being made for fireplaces. To provide themselves with fireplaces where to dry their clothes he stated that they had to buy two sheets of iron at a cost of 12s. In some cases tents were equipped with improvised fireplaces, but the newcomers were seldom fortunate enough to secure them. The food was particularly bad, and was also badly cooked. Fortunately there was tea and bread, butter and jam, and it was possible to exist on that. For that the men were compelled to pay 235. That was bad enough, said Mr. Wells, but the worst part of it to his mind was the extent of the relief provided. For the first fortnight married men were employed at a rate of 12s a day, half of that amount being paid to their wives, who, providing the weather permitted a full week’s work, would receive £1 36s a week. The payment, he said, was made at the end of the first fortnight, but his wife did not receive her allotment until Wednesday of the following week. Whilst claiming to be providing relief work, said Mr. Wells, the Government expected the wives and families to exist for practically three weeks without a penny. In support of this complaint Mr. Wells instanced the travelling arrangements that were made for them when they w r ent down to the job. HOW TO GET HOME Instead of being railed direct from ALickland they w r ere sent by boat to Paeroa and then taken by truck to a point a little distance past Waihi. The baggage was then transported by cart to the camp, while the men splashed their way on foot through mud, inches thick and in some cases reaching halfway up their legs, for a distance of 10 miles. That little pleasure jaunt, he said, involved a deduction of 15s from their first fortnight’s wages. The main topic of conversation in the camp, concluded Mr. Wells, is how to make enough money to pay the fare home. He had been fully prepared to put up with a good deal, but apart altogether with the question of hardship, the position appeared hopeless.