1930s spectre coming back to haunt N.Z.?

Press, 6 August 1976, Page 13

1930s spectre coming back to haunt N.Z.?

unemployment in New Zealand during the next 12 months has been predicted by the 24-nation Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development. Although its report gives no specific figures for this country, it estimates that member countries will have a potential unemployment rate of 4 per cent a year. On July 16, the Labour Department announced that 13,280 persons were registered as unemployed or on special work — or 1.1 per cent of the toal workforce of 1,193,600. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimated that the figure would reach 20,000 this year. The Minister of Labour (Mr Gordon) is a little more optimistic. He was reported by an Auckland newspaper as saying that he was hopeful unemployment would not reach 18,000.

Although unemployment is not dramatically high at this stage, it is at its highest level since the depression of the 1930 s when it. stood at 79,000 (men only). Of the 13,280 who have lost their jobs, 6753 are now employed on special work and are being paid award rates. The actual number of persons not working in mid-July — 6527 — made up 0.55 per cent of the workforce. Of that number 4467 were on the dole. This figure does not include married women who are not eligible for the benefit unless they can prove that their husbands are unable to support them.

The low figure tends to belie the difficulties that face an unemployed person who wants to find a job or to draw the dole. To some, the red-tape and bureaucracy can be sopl destroying. One woman described her husband’s four months on the dole after two years illness as

s “thoroughly humiliating experience." According to the chief employment officer in Christchurch (Mr P. M. Adds), an unemployed person is interviewed indepth by an experienced officer of the Labour Department who attempts to match his skills with a job. His work record, appearance, manner, and style of dress are also noted.

“We have an obligation not only to the employees but also to the employers,” says Mr Adds. “I will not allow any of my officers to refer to an employer a person who is not clean of habits and appearance. We gently remind some of our clients that their chances of a job might be enhanced if they tidied themselves up.” The head of the Labour Department in Christchurch (Mr P. S. Cunningham) emphasises that the department provides an employment service and is not an unemployment bureau. He is also confident that in Christchurch at least, the department can cope with most problems. Persons who go to the department do not remain unemployed for long. “People becoming unem-

ployed are a mixture of all types. We get a large number of unskilled people, but we get skilled people as well, although they have no problems being settled. There is no current problem with school leavers and seasonal workers,” Mr Cunningham says.

“There is a class of client who is more difficult to place than others, but normally we get them into employment. A large number of people get jobs in the private sector or with local or Government

By

PAUL RANSLEY

bodies on special work schemes."

Some people have physical and mental disabilities 1 and this makes them more difficult to place, Mr Cunningham says. “Employers are much more selective today than they were some months ago. “We have jobs notified to us every day. We .send out officers to contact employers and liaise with them. We get between 14 to 20 employers calling us every day. On one day in early July the department had 90 male vacancies and 34 female vacancies.

The manager of a private employment agency. Mr R F. Barlow, of Ke\ Personnel. Ltd. says that although unemployment is high firms such as his had a arge number of job vac ancies, especially for skilled staff in the indus trial and commercial sectors. Criticism cf the Labour Department has been voiced recently. It ha» been suggested that some of its officers are inexperienced and slap-da'h in handling peoples’ problems; that women •officers have been stopped from interviewing “clients” because they are “too soft and let people get the benefit too easily”; that officials in Auckland have pandered to the wishes of racist employers. Because the department’s work has been increased over the last few months, some inexperienced officers have been hired to fill in the staff gaps. However, the department was looking for permanent officers with a good education and empathy towards the people with whom they are dealing. Mr Adds says “Permanent officers are carefully selected. We look for the more mature type of persons. Female employment officers are

making their mark and are being appointed to senior positions. Females probably probe deeper than some male officers." The chief executive of the Race Relations Conciliator recently examined the files in Christchurch ’’and if it had been the Olympic Games we would have won a gold medal,” Mr Adds says. “He was more than happy with our files. Our staff are well trained and we do not allow ethnic or racial discrimination.”

Persons on special work schemes are gainfully em-

ployed, says Mr Cjnninj hant "When a job i up in the priva'e aectowe give priority to those on special work who have the relevant skills. Peopi on work schemes are n forgotten StNMtfMa ' -pecial worker is hired »• a permanent emplo'ee o 1 the organisation he i« special u. rkt-rs aie get erally employed bv loca bodies, the Ministry of Works, the I orest ry De partment. and the El* tricity Department. Most of the jobs are of an unskilled nature. The Government pays the wages of special workers at award rates, but there is no telling how long some of th > work will last or if the Government will de cide to run-down the schemes. The Christchurch City Council has 20 men employed or special work in its Reserves Department The D.rector of Reserves (Mr H G. Gilpin) says that the men are building walkways. "It is work whith would not normally be done by our staff but it is of particular value and it is not a matter of five men doing useless work. The Waimairi and Heathcote County Cour, cils also have’ special workers. The men m Waimairi are cleaning up debris in Spencer Park which was left after the storm a year ago. The county’s engineer (Mr .1, Lamb) says that the job certainly needed to be done, and that if the workers had not been available the work would have had to wait. People on the dole, and even on special work, are often regarded as bludgers by the less enlightened members of the community. Undoubtedly, there must be some attempts made to abuse the unemployment benefit, but these cases would be few and far between, and the present regulations and policing measures make such abuse difficult.