LANDING GROUNDS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 197, 2 June 1934, Page 3

LANDING GROUNDS

LABOUR FOR IMPROVEMENTS.

UTILISATION OF UNEMPLOYED.

(Per Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 1

Toward the end of last year the Cabinet approved of a scheme of establishing a chain of emergency landing grounds throughout the Dominion. The sum of £SOOO was provided to allow a commencement to be made with the work by relief labour, and the services of a Public Works Department engineer, Air E. A. Gibson, were placed at the disposal of the Defence Department.

About 50 proposed aerodromes and landing grounds have been inspected by Mr Gibson, and their suitability or otherwise reported on. The Minister for Defence (the Hon. J. G. Cobbe) stated that to facilitate the progress of the. work, and to enable it to be carried out on a similar system to that followed recently at the Wigram aerodrome, Christchurch, where extensive levelling operations had been completed in a very satisfactory manner, the Unempolyment Board had agreed to subsidiso the labour cost up to 20 per cent, in excess of the total allocation under the No. 5 Scheme for relief labour engaged. Mr Cobbe said the main features of the Wigram system were as follow: (a) Employment to be on a co-oper-ative contract basis; (b) an increase of one half-day a week to be made to the classification under the No. 5 Scheme of all men employed; (c) wet time not to count for payment, but the allocation for wot days to be used to provide increased earnings for the men as their efficiency improves. “While the Unemployment Board has thus agreed to provide labour on the foregoing conditions,” said tho Minister, “an amount is required in addition to meet such outgoings as survey expenses, the cost of tools and materials, and job supervision. The question of what sum can be made available for this purpose is at present under consideration, pending provision being made in the annual l ote of the Defence Department.”