Province calls for jobs — not dole

Press, 18 August 1978, Page 1

Province calls for jobs — not dole

A Government-supported programme of saving jobs — instead of providing money for workers already laid off — is one of a series of measures being sought from the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) by the Canterbury steering committee on economic problems.

The contents of a letter to Mr Muldoon from the Acting Mayor of Christchurch (Cr P. J. R. Skellerup) were released yesterday. Regional problems were so severe that temporary work programmes “are of little practical assistance,” Mr Skellerup said. “Emphasis should be shifted towards making it possible for employers who are encountering difficulty to retain, if not all, then the majority of their workers.” Money normally used for unemployment benefits could help companies maintain staff levels, perhaps through devoting some time to training, he said. Companies with deepseated problems were not included, “but rather those which can see future demand for their product, and therefore for a workforce at present levels,” Mr Skellerup said. Even companies which had resorted to four-day weeks could face problems if they tried to return to five-day weeks, because of award limitations. Mr Skellerup said that one local company knew it would have a six-week period when it would not need about 80 workers, out of a total of hundreds. That company could use the “slack period” for training purposes if it had Government financial assistace to keep workers on the job. “The emphasis must be placed on the industry recovering so that, in turn, it can look after the individual.” Unless staff could be retained now, there were “very real dangers” that companies would face accelerated wage costs when demand improved, because of labour shortages, said Mr Skellerup. Canterbury submissions also included the argument for an “iron-bridge” concept of inter-island freight charges. Some critics in Parliament and Government departments had not favoured the concept. But Mr Skellerup said that a more independent body, which showed more concern for a more realistic regional development policy, should be commissioned by the Government to make a full inquiry, “where the views of all

interested parties could be heard in a judicial way.” Another requested Government move was the freeing of local building projects, through the Ministry of Works and Development, that have previously been delayed for economic reasons.

There should be a rise in Education Department maintenance work and

small projects, and an emergency grant or loan to local bodies for more urban renewal jobs, caid Mr Skellerup. The road transport industry could be helped by extending the 150 km road restriction, to allow cartage between Christchurch and Timaru. There could also be greater use of private trucking contractors on local body works. Recent arguments on energy pricing and availability of natural g„s supplies were also repeated in submissions to Mr Muldoon. Mr Skellerup said that the real worry was “not so much a lack of finance, but a lack of confidence.” Confidence in the future would have a big chain reaction at this critical time, said Mr Skellerup. The more talk there was of gloom and redundancies, the less likely North Canterbury was to recover, he said. An offer of freight relief for South Island manufacturers might be part of Labour’s General Election policy. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) hinted at this on his arrival in Christchurch yesterday at the start of a three-day visit. Mr Rowling referred specifically to freight costs when discussing what he called the “industrial scene of total collapse” in Christchurch and said that it was the responsibility of the Government to ensure equal opportunity for producers throughout New Zealand. Labour’s regional development policies will be announced next month, Mr Rowling said. The basic principal of these would be equal opportunity. Christchurch had ceased to be a productive city and was now a crippled city, he said. Unemployment assistance of $140,000 a week was being paid out and the econon.y and confidence of Canterbury were shrinking week by week. Neither Christchurch nor the South Island wanted handouts; all they wanted was a fair opportunity to compete for markets, said Mr Rowling. “With only three million people and limited resources, we cannot afford to cut off half the country and leave it to wither,” he said.

He spoke to students at Lincoln College yesterday and visited the Methodist Children’s Home in Harewood Road. He also mixed with members of the Papanui Working Men’s Club and patrons of the Racecourse Hotel, Yaldhurst, as well as officially opening

the party’s campaign headquarters for the Papanui electorate.