RELIEF WORKERS.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17982, 29 March 1930, Page 7

RELIEF WORKERS.

MR POLSON’S STRICTURES. ' NOT ACCORDING TO FACT. \ REPLY BY MINISTER. (Special Reporter.) RAGLAN, Saturday. A reply to Mr W. J. Poison's recent strictures upon the system of relief work adopted by the Government-, was made to a Times representative by the Minister of Public Works (Hon. E. A. Ransom) to-day. Mr Ransom said that instructions had been given to the engineers that wherever possible men were to he employed on piecework, and this applied particularly to relief workers. Wherever it was possible to fairly fix a price this was done, but there were many works where conditions were so varied that it was almost impossible to lTx a price for piecework. In addition, in accordance with Government instructions, men were placed on day work if they were inexperienced for a certain time in order to enable them to become accustomed to work in which, perhaps, they had never been engaged before. The men, said the Minister, were allowed 10 minutes each morning and afternoon for “smoko"-, whether they were on day work or piece-work. This, no doubt, was the time off for morning and afternoon tea to which Mr Poison had referred. No such thing as killing time was allowed if detected.

With regard to the statement that metal obtained by Dalmatians cost 10s a yard, and by another parly of unemployed £2 Ids, Mr Ransom said it was not possible to investigate this, unless particulars were given as to time and place. He thought it highly improbable that this statement was correct.

Touching Mr Poison’s definite statement that a very considerable number of the men were on nothing but day work, the Minister quoted figures which showed that for Whangarei and Auckland there were 13S8 relief workers on co-operative contract, and only 7 9 on day work. All districts were not equally satisfactory. The average for New Zealand was 66 per cent, on co-operative contract and 34 on day work. The percentage on co-operative contract would have been much greater hut for the men employed on the restoration of earthquake damage in the Nelson and Greymouth districts, where several hundred men were engaged on removing slips and other debris, which work could not be done other than by day labour. In the Stratford district, which, perhaps, Mr Poison had in his mind, there were 99 on day work and 227 on co-operative contract.