Mr Bolger agrees to meet students

Press, 12 August 1980, Page 2

Mr Bolger agrees to meet students

PA Wellington The Minister of Labour, (Mr Bolger) said last evening that he was prepared to meet a deputation from the University Students’ Association if a meeting was essential to resolve any issue. He was replying to allegations by the association that he had twice refused to meet it to discuss alterations to the student community service programme. Mr Bolger said he had told the students x to discuss details of the scheme with officers of his department because a policy decision had been made. “But if a meeting is essential to resolve an issue with the students, I am prepared to meet them,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) refused to meet the association while Mr Simon Wilson headed the student executive. - ■ “Substantial changes” to the programme were announced in this year’s Budget, said the association’s education and welfare vicepresident, Ms Helen Aikman, yesterday. “These changes included a four-week stand-1 down period. This means! that students must now wait! four weeks after registering!

with the Labour Department before they are eligible to be referred to a Government sponsored job, and that no job may start until December 1 — more than a month after many students have finished their exams. “This will have disastrous effects on the earning power of many students. We believe that it would have been only fair and appropriate for the Minister to grant us the opportunity to put forward our views,” Ms Aikman said.