Policy ‘Ministerial waffle’

Press, 2 November 1983, Page 7

Policy ‘Ministerial waffle’

A new Government policy aimed at helping long-term unemployed was described yesterday as Ministerial waffle. The policy announced by the Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger, in an address to the Auckland Employers’ Association on Monday, will mean that only persons who have been registered as unemployed for more than. 26 weeks will be eligible to be referred by the Labour Department to one of its job’creation schemes, the Project Employment, Programme. - .. But Dr Tom Dwyer and Professor Bill Willmott both University of Canterbury sociologists, said yes'terday that the uniemployed needed work, not “Ministerial waffle." They said that the new would actually increase the number emDwyer and

Willmott said that they based their comments on the results of the “experiment” by the Labour Deparment in Christchurch from October last year to July this year. “This experiment involved a local decision to engage only those who had been unemployed for more than 13 weeks on P.E.P. schemes.” Mr Bolger had’ given similar reasons justifying the “experiment” to those given on Monday — to ensure that the employment needs of longer-duration unemployed persons were given first consideration. . The Christchurch experiment had resulted in a sharp decline in the numbers employed on PJE.P. schemes, had aggravated the unemployment problems in Christchurch, and was associated with an increasing rate of long-term ployment For exampSp be-

tween November, 1982, and April, 1983, the number of persons unemployed in Christchurch for more than 13 weeks rose 31 per cent from 3203 to 4201. Dr Dwyer said that in October last year there were 1552 on P.E.P. schemes in Christchurch. This had fallen to 1114 by .July when the experiment was abandoned. The national figures for the same period were 12,651 in October and 14,801 in July. A conservative estimate of the effect on unemployment of having the longer job-search period was that it increased unemployment 250 a month. This figure was calculated using a formula devised by the two sociologists. The new policy was also criticised yesterday by a meeting of workers involved in job-creation schemes in Christchurch, at the Canter-: bury United Council-spon-

sored resource centre. The centre’s co-ordinator Mr Terry Hill, said that the workers had shared Mr Bolger’s concern about long term unemployment but felt that the new policy would “lose more than it solves.” Under the pressure system many people referred to P.E.P. schemes had skills and were able to make a real contribution to the projects in which they worked, but under the new policy they would have to stand down for six months. Some might be able to get jobs in the private sector, but many would not. “There just are not the jobs available,” said Mr He said that the new policy would also have the effect of reducing the number of worth-while programmes available under the P.EJ’., scheme because loqSJ authorities would be United to taking people

who had lost job disciplines and would have fewer skills than other unemployed. Problems such as increasing the amount of supervision needed would mean that some would not apply for assistance under the scheme, so that the number of job opportunities would be reduced. The P.E.P. scheme is available only for public sector employers and provides short-term subsidised work for the unemployed who cannot be placed immediately in a permament unsubsidised job. The term is six months, but can be increased to 12 months in some cases. It is the biggest non-seasonal job-creation programme : and - replaced the Temporary Employment Programme. At present it provides jobs for about 15,000 unemployed people, who are paid wages in line with award rattes for the work done.