UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 118, 21 May 1931, Page 9

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

EFFORTS CF GOVERNMENT.

jjELPCfG AIX A LITTLE.

r I NO PAYMENT FOR NO WORK.

«j t'flink that any reasonable man will kjjmit that the United Government has irkd to grapple with the unemployment tioblem— one of the greatest difficulties (fct'iM confronted the Dominion at -ay time in its history," said the Prime the Rt Hon. G. W. Forbes.. -t Otahuhu last evening, in presenting "statement showing the expenditure on rnemolcrment relief works during tne r.- three years, as distinct irom that & under" the Unemployment Act. The figures are as follows:— 1928-29. 1929-30. 1930-31.

s=r . al 650,393 014,000 1,249,445 Subsidies paid w bodie3 ••• 65.-367 111,72$ 14-5.215 Totals ... 745,060 1,025,728 1,394,661 Large numbers of men had been emrloved on Public Works, said the Prime Minister, the average numbers engaged in this connection during the past three Tears being: 10-2-S-29, 3016; 1929-30.. 36-53; and 1930-31, 4S9S. The men have been employed mostly en construction and widening of settlement road:- and on main highways, but a : ' ew - months ago effect was given to A recommendation of the Department that metalling of roads in sparsely, settled district*, with struggling settlers,* he carried out as relief works. About 70 per cent of the men on the Public Works Department's works were emcloved on the co-operative contract jjvstem. and paid by results. Where work was not suitable for letting by contract the men were employed on day wages tader the supervision of competent foremen and gangers. Relief Given Large Number. The Prime Minister said it was a far letter policy to provide a measure of relief to a "large'number than to pay full wages to a comparatively small cumber, and do nothing for the rest. Full wases could not be provided for everyone. A Voice: You are making the poor keep the poor. The Prime Minister: We are doing nothing of the sort. He added that the money spent on Public Works came out of loan money, and not out of the pockets of the poor. The Dominion was up against a difficult problem., but unemployment was world wide. In his travels he had looked to see if other countries could teach Xew Zealand the remedy for unemployment, tut he could find no solution to "the problem. The Government was doing its very best, and certainly no country with & labour Government was doing better. The Unemployment Bill had been introduced in an effort to relieve the situation, but when he returned from the Imperial Conference he was surprised to learn that many people thought that the money obtained from the levy wa3 to be used as, a dole. He had seen the effects of the' dole in England, and he felt that the people of the Dominion would not be in favour of it. He therefore made it clear that the money would used to pay for work done. Men deteriorated with idleness, but work enabled them to maintain their selfrespect. A Yoke: On 18/ a week. "g/ a Day Better Than Nothing." Mr. Forbes replied that the money raised by the levy amounted to £306,000, and that had been subsidised by the Government to a similar extent. Up to the present time the Unemployment Board had spent £715,984, including £521,000 on the Xo. 5 scheme. That showed that the board had not adhered strictly to the regulations, but had tried to meet the position of the times in every way possible. When people spoke of W and 12/6 a day they had to realise that the difficulty of the Unemployment Board was to provide work for men at aH. A man earning 9/ a day was better on than if he were earning nothing. Had the Unemployment Bill not been introduced he hesitated to think what the position would have been to-day. the most optimistic did not feel that the Bill would cure unemployment, it had certainly resulted in considerably reducing hardship and privaune appreciates more than I do," said Mr. Forbes, "the position of tie genuine worker, who, through slackness in industry and trade, is enable to obtain employment at his filing, but the Government and the Unemployment Board are exerting every effort to afford him every relief until such time as economic conditions imThe utmost credit i 3 due to local |wdies, private individuals and others for the assistance they have readily and given to cope with the problem."