Unemployed Not Keen To Grub

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31771, 30 August 1968, Page 1

Unemployed Not Keen To Grub

Vacancies in nassella tussock grubbing gangs are proving difficult to fill, in spite of unemployment in Christchurch. A number of unemployed, when advised of available work, have refused to accept it.

“If the position of the grubbing staff continues we will be back with the problem we had when forced to terminate the employment of Fijians," the secretary of the North Canterbury Nassella Tussock Board (Mr G. A. Hay) said yesterday. - Mr Hay said that on August 20 13 men were requited to fill the camps. The Labour Department had a list of 20 men to call for interviews, but only 10 arrived. Eight of them were engaged, but only four arrived at the camp, and one left after a day. On hearing that four did not appear, the Labour Department sent out another six men but only three arrived. This week 22 men were needed to fill the camps. The Labour Department asked 53 men to call for interviews..

but only 15 appeared, and 10 of them refused to take the work.

“We have reached the stage where persons, for whom a job can be found, are refusing to take employment,” Mr Hay said. “We are trying to keep up with the grubbing hours, but there is very little we can do about it.”

Mr L. R. C. Macfarlane: Do these men who fail to come up for work, go on to relief? Mr Hay: I’m not sure.

Mr Macfarlane: It appears some of these men are quite happy living on relief. Mr Hay: It would seem so. In his monthly report, the board’s operations manager. (Mr D. W McLellan) said that from July 6 to August 17, a period of six weeks, the labour turnover was 80. The grubbing staff was to be .increased from 126 to 137.