Many students seek unemployment benefit

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 18

Many students seek unemployment benefit

University examinations finished last week and the Social Welfare Department is expecting a “deluge” of students applying for the unemployment benefit. By last Friday 540 University of Canterbury students were on the dole. The assistant director of the department’s benefits division in Christchurch (Mr C. Money) said that another 100 applications were received on Monday. “We will probably be looking at a deluge this week,” Mr Money said. Students would continue to apply until after the Student Community Assistance Programme (S.C.A.P) started on November 30. The president of the University of ■ Canterbury Student’s Association (Ms Katrina Amos) said about 500 students were on the dole last summer but this year at least 1000 would need the benefit. “What is happening is exactly what we warned the Labour Department about,” Ms Amos said. “The late start of . the S.C.A.P. scheme is showing its effect — students are finishing their exams and going straight on to the dole because they cannot find unsubsidised employment.” Students wanted the scheme to start on November 1 so that it would be

under way when their examinations finished. The Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) refused to change the starting date, saying that the late start offered students the chance to find unsubsidised employment. The scheme will start on December 1. More than 2000 students have enrolled for it since the employment centre at the university opened on October 28. Ms Amos said that it was hard to tell how many students would be employed on the scheme because the Labour Department was still processing applications from organisations wanting students. A team of students hired by the Students’ Association

to find unsubsidised employment had had little success. “They are starting to find some but it is much harder this year than in previous years,” Ms Amos said. Most students either had no money or were heavily in debt. “They are just hanging round waiting for the dole or for the S.C.A.P. scheme to start, and trying not to spend any money,” Ms Amos said. Foreign students were not eligible for subsidised jobs, so. they were being given priority for unsiibsidised work. These students found it doubly tough because they had to save at least $l5OO to pay the fee levied by the Government on foreign students, Ms Amos said.