Long-term jobless rise seen as P.E.P. failure

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 12

Long-term jobless rise seen as P.E.P. failure

PA Wellington Both Labour and Social Credit have attacked the Government’s decision to continue with the 26-week stand-down period for Project Employment Programme workers. Spokesmen from both parties claimed that the policy, which gives priority for P.E.P. scheme jobs to people who have been unemployed for six months or more, had actually increased the number of longterm unemployed. On Wednesday the Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger, had said that the standdown policy was achieving its objective. “The number of people registered for more than 26 weeks is decreasing and, because the department is

able to devote more resources to private sector placements, over-all placement rates are increasing,” Mr Bolger had said. Labour’s employment spokesman Mr Peter Neilson, said that comment was “simply staggering.” “In the five months that the policy has applied the number of long-term unemployed increased from 15,242 in October, last year to 15,945 in February, this year,” he said. “At the same time the numbers of PE.P. schemes dropped steadily from 15,475 in October to 12,055 in February. “It has been suggested that the real purpose of the extended stand-down period was to save money by reducing the numbers of

P.EP. schemes. If that was Mr Bolger’s objective he has been successful.” The Social Credit Deputy Leader, Mr G. T. Knapp, said it was a “blatant misrepresentation of the facts” for Mr Bolger to state that the stand-down period was achieving its objectives. He said there had been a 7 per cent increase in longterm unemployment since November, while the number of people on P.E.P. schemes baa declined 19.4 per cent. “The only objective that has been achieved by this policy has been to reduce the number of P.E.P. workers, thereby allowing the Government to save money as a result of the reduced number of placements,” he said.