UNEMPLOYMENT.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20905, 12 July 1933, Page 5

UNEMPLOYMENT.

BUILDING SUBSIDY SCHEME. MORE THAN 1000 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED. Applications for subsidies on buildings, under the No. 10 scheme of the Unemployment Board, received up till July 8, numbered 1071, Mr Walter Bromley, a member of the board, i stated yseterday. Of this total 593 applications had been approved. 46 declined, and 432 were still under consideration. The applications received represented work of a total value of £581,413, he said. If they had all been approved, 5814 men would ultimately have been employed on these jobs; and as most of the applications refused had been turned down because the work had already been started, approximately this number of men would be employed in any case. "The popularity of the scheme is shown by our having received over more than 400 applications in two days," said Mr Bromley. The task of dealing with the appli-1 cations was well in hand, he added, and not more than a week should elapse between the lodging of an application and the receipt of a reply. Applications to the Labour Depart- j ment at Christchurch for subsidies under the Unemployment Board's building scheme had totalled 169 by \ 4 p.m. yesterday. This represents an ! outlay of £142,395 10s 7d in worth of \ work, including £53,816 5s 2d in j wages. STRIKE PROPOSAL, j STATEMENT BY NATIONAL UNION OFFICIAL. ir?„£j.i association ielsj^au.) "WELLINGTON. July 11. In a statement to-day, Mr S. F. Vella, secretary to the National Union of Unemployed, said that Wellington had not had an opportunity of affiliating with the National Union, with which three-quarters of the principal districts of New Zealand were affiliated. Therefore, no official comment could be made by him on the local strike decided upon at a meeting of unemployed men yesterday afternoon. There were genuine grievances with the unemployed men's daily wages and the conditions were beyond all limits of toleration, he said. There was every just cause to adopt any weapon which would yield some measure of emancipation, but up to the present the majority of the provinces appeared to view the strike weapon as one which reacts more favourably with the board. The position was that majority decisions must be adhered to. The National Council would probably meet in the next few days to formulate a definite policy on strike tactics. The general policy would be i exhaustively dealt with so that anv national movement at any time should be executed in a thoroughly planned manner. WELLINGTON MEN. STRIKE NOT SLTPORTED. (rr.ESS ASSOCIATION TELESAAIf.) WELLINGTON, July 11. A relief workers' strike is not at present supported by the majority of men on works in Wellington. On works in the charge of the city engineer's department only 200 men were absent, on the parks and reserves 30, and on works supervised by other employing authorities 70, making a total of 300 on strike out of several thousands. Dissatisfaction with the methods with which the strike was declared was expressed by some relief workers who contend that a proper strike ballot, purely on the strike issue, was not taken. FARM WORK FOR BOYS. AUCKLAND VACANCIES EXCEED APPLICATIONS. (FEZ3S ASSOCIATION TELEGROI.) AUCKLAND, July 11. The secretary of the Boys' Employment Committee (Mr N. S. Gribble) said to-day that as a result of a special appeal to farmers, more than 400 applications for boys had been received, but the supply was not sufficient to meet the demand. Many boys were refraining from applying for such jobs in the hope of obtaining city jobs. At the present moment he had vacancies for 40 boys on approved farms, but had no boys to fill them. The percentage of boys who had cast aside city ties and found out what farm life was really like and still wanted to return to the city was extremely small. CHRISTCHURCH POSITION. NOT THE SAME OBJECTION TO COUNTRY WORK. Mr G. M. Keys, vocational guidance officer of the Boys' Employment Committee, said yesterday that there was not the same objection in Christchurch to boys going on the land as in Auckland. At piesent there were 20 boys waiting for farm employment, but the work was largely seasonal, and as this was the off season he hoped they would soon all be placed. Of the last 80 jobs found for boys 40 had been in the country. There was no trouble in placing boys who had had previous experience of the work, but inexperienced boys might receive only about 5s a week and their keep. With a few months' experience they would, however, be in a position to earn higher wages, and Mr Key's thought there would be definite prospects in the future for boys on the land. Twelve months ago, he said, Christchurch boys were as reluctant to go on to farms as the boys in Auckland, but their experience in looking for positions in the city and the committee's insistence that many of the boys intending to enter city positions would have to alter their plans had to a large extent broken down the prejudice against country work. The committee also, through its representatives in the country districts, kept in touch with all boys placed on farms and saw that the boys were properly treated.