CHARITABLE AID SOUGHT

Taranaki Daily News, 19 January 1933, Page 7

CHARITABLE AID SOUGHT

DEPUTATION AT NEW PLYMOUTH. “ALLOCATIONS INSUFFICIENT.” Protesting against the reductions recently made in the allocations for the payment of relief work, over 100 New Plymouth members of the relief workers’ branch, of the General Labourers Union yesterday waited on the charitable aid committee of the Taranaki. Hospital Board with-a request for sustenance. The matter was considered earlier at a stop-work meeting presided over by Mr. B. Thome. Mr. Thome explained why the stopwork meeting had been called. In view of the reduced amount of work and wages, it was considered that application should be made for sustenance; many relief workers were finding it impossible to maintain themselves and their-fami-lies on the small amount they received. He cited the case of one man who had to draw this week a total of £1 Is IOJd with, which to support himself and his wife and two children. The worker had figured out the cost of his living for a week as follows: Bread 3s, butter 2s, tea Is Id, sugar Is, flour 2s, oatmeal Is, milk Is sd, salt 2d, meat 3s, potatoes Is, lighting Is, fuel ss; total £1 2s Id, leaving a deficit of 2Jd for the week. Indication that the men were to be penalised for attending the meeting was also given by Mr. Thome. A Circular had been received from the Labour Department stating that the Unemployment Board had ruled that if men did not arrive at the work allocated them on the appointed days, the money allocated for that work for those days had to be returned to the. board. It could not be used later in the week, in giving the men additional work except in cases of sickness. Local bodies had been advised similarly, and it was clear that by attending the meeting the men would be depriving themselves of a day’s work. Advice of the. position had been forwarded to all foremen.

By invitation,. Messrs. . C. P. Smith (secretary of the North Taranaki Unemployment Relief Committee) and W. J. Berryman, another officer of the Labour Department, were present at the meeting. Mr. Thorne urged that they endeavour to allow the lost time to be made up by the men in the 170 at the meeting who were affected. The meeting had been called at 9 a.m. instead of in the evening to permit the men to apply to the charitable aid committee for sustenance if they so decided. Wednesday morning was the only morning on which that could be done. Personal sympathy with the men was expressed by Mr. Smith. He assured the meeting that he would do what he could to see that the lost time was made up. DEPUTATION SEEKS SUSTENANCE. Considering themselves in desperate straits, the men then decided they would approach the hospital board’s charitable aid committee with an application for sustenance and about 100 men proceeded to the office in small groups. Mr. J. Brown, a member of the hoard, was dealing with applications for relief at the time and, when Mr. Thorne had acquainted him with the position, he said he would see the men individually and not collectively. The relief workers then formed a queue together with several women waiting their turn for an audience with Mr. Brown. Messrs. Smith and Berryman arrived and, after they had seen Mr. Brown, he came out and addressed the men.

Exception to the tone was taken by some of the men and Mr. F. Baird said they could not hear what was being said. Mr. Brown asked them to come nearer and added further words to which the men again took exception. The men’s resentment at being addressed in such a manner was expressed by Mr. Baird and Mr. Brown told them that, if they did not like it, he would go inside again. After a few minutes Mr. Brown explained that the committee only administered the funds for the board arid had no voice in the allocation of the moneys in the district. The men knew that, said Mr. Thome, but they wished to place their position before the board. They were in desperate straits. Mr. Brown said the relief workers at New Plymouth had always been peaceful.

They intended to continue to be peaceful, said Mr. Baird. They did not understand why they should be penalised because the relief workers in the larger centres had reported to. lawlessness.

With regard to the time lost through attending the meeting, Mr. Brown said he would see it was made up and advised the men to return to their jobs. He said it was impossible for him to give charitable aid to the men. Other matters that were considered at the meeting in the morning were the resolutions of the New Plymouth Borough Council on Monday night in connection with the drainage scheme and the repairs to the tramway tracks relief work. It was considered that this course was tending to create further unemployment rather than helping to cure the position, and the meeting entered its protest. Exception was also taken to the Unemployment Board’s circular which penalised men for seeking other work,

and in the opinion of the meeting the I resolutions passed by the borough > council would mean that the avenues i for relief workers getting other work i elsewhere would be further closed. i At this stage it was suggested that Mr. i S. G. Smith, M.P., should be invited to ; the meeting to address the men, and a ■ message was sent to his residence, but , Mr. Smith was engaged at a meeting of the Taranaki Education Board.