SANDILANDS WORK.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20541, 16 February 1935, Page 18

SANDILANDS WORK.

Unemployed Wait on R.S.A. Officials. COMPLAINTS AIRED. Complaints concerning conditions on the Sandilands job were aired yesterday afternoon, when 200 unemployed returned soldiers met R.S.A. officials to discuss the circumstances leading up to the dismissal of several men because of allegations of slacking. Charges of failing to fight the battle of the men were levelled against the executive of ‘ the R.S.A., and considerable doubt was expressed concerning the accuracy of the oft-repeated statement of the president of the R.S.A. (the Rev F. T. Read) that the work was arranged by the Unemployment Board, with City Council officers supervising, and that the executive of the R.S.A. had no standing in the matter at all. Bitter complaints concerning the amount of pay earned by the men at Sandilands were expressed by Mr J. Gray, a job delegate. “We got cheered when we went to the war and the bands played, but because we are on the job there, we are in disgrace. It wasn’t a disgrace to go away to the war and fight for our freedom, and this is the freedom we get—to go to work on an empty stomach,” he said. No Loafing Wanted. A delegate from the work at Bottle Lake was next to be applauded when he complained of men being taken off the job for loafing, declaring that no returned soldier wanted idleness. The first definite charge was made by another Bottle Lake delegate, whose charge was that when relief workers on channelling work at Sandilands asked for more than 9s a day for the work, men were brought from another relief job and paid 16s 4d a day to do the work. The chairman explained that the Labour Department was in charge ofi the work at Sandilands, and arranged for the manning and the pay. This was the signal for a good deal of commotion, during which one naan shouted that if the men could Tiot get the kind of meeting they wanted there they would go to the Trades Hall.

One man declared that the men were willing to give a good day’s wotfk and that while it had been stated that the work at Sandilands was costing £947 an acre, no comparison had been made with other relief jobs. A job delegate moved that the exforeman be reinstated and all the B2 men who had been dismissed because they were not doing enough work be given their jobs back. “ I can’t accept that motion,” said the chairman, “ because our executive has no power to do anything.” Loud dissent was expressed, but the chairman, when he could make himself heard, was adamant. At this stage a motion was moved that the meeting adjourn to the Trades Hall, but this proposal was rejected. Another speaker declared that it was unfair to criticise tfie work done by the men at Sandilands because that job was, he contended, designed for men who were medically unfit. “ The Wrong Barrel.” “I want to make it clear you are shooting down the wrong barrel,” declared the chaiignan, who added that the R.S.A. had no money on Sandilands except to subsidise the foreman’s wages. Someone wanted to move that the executive try to get the men who had stopped work on Monday paid for the morning arvd the ex-foreman reinstated, but the chairman’s reply that the matter would come before the next meeting of the executive, which would consider t he position and take what'ever acticyn it thought necessary, finished this p.hase of the debate, although his ruling was not popular. Mr J. Laurenson diagnosed the trouble as being caused by insufficient rates of pay for the whole of the relief workers, and for once unanimity was attainted with his motion that the meet ing oppress its opinion that the present scalfe was inadequate, and call on the

Government and the Unemployment Board to increase the scale of all relief wages and sustenance allowances to enable the men to attain a decent standard of living. Another man wanted to . move a motion urging that all loans lent by patriotic funds or out of other war funds be called up, and the money distributed among the men “ before we are dead.” The chairman refused to accept this motion, and once again the attack was directed on Mr Drummond. “ We want to know why the work at Sandilands has been speeded up?” asked one man. “ It has been speeded up because of the attitude of the public of Christchurch and the attitude of the Unemployment Board,” declared Mr Drummond. The words were barely out of his mouth before pandemonium broke loose and the vice-president was counted out. As this died down, Mr Drummond repeated his statement, amid another outburst, causing the chairman to close the meeting. Groups of men assembled outside afterwards, declaring that they would hold another meeting shortly, but not in Jellicoe Hall.