Allowance docking defended

Press, 4 March 1989, Page 2

Allowance docking defended

By

PETER LUKE

political reporter The Minister of; Employment, Mr Goff, has defended the docking of Access trainees’ allowances for unreasonable absences. The practice was condemned on Thursday by trade unionists on Regional Employment and Access Councils in Wellington and the Central Districts. “We will not tolerate further punitive action on those in society who have the least,” said the Coun-

cil of Trade Unions’ regional co-ordinator, Mr Robert Reid. But Mr Goff yesterday replied that Access aimed to train people for the workforce. “Part of the discipline of working is turning up for work. Access trainees are expected to adopt that discipline. “If they don’t turn up for their training course and haven’t a reasonable excuse, their pay is docked,” he said. Mr Reid has argued that as trainees were paid an allowance, not a wage,

they were not in a work situation. He also said that the Youth Support and Training allowances were the equivalent of the unemployment benefit and the minimum income that a person could live on.

These allowances were the same as what tertiary students received, and university students were not penalised if they missed a class, said Mr Reid.

Mr Goff said that the comparison between trainees and university

students was invalid. All teriary students would soon have to make a partial contribution to the cost of their education, once they were earning above the average pay, he said. “The Government has exempted Access trainees from this requirement because of their level of social and educational disadvantage. “Access trainees are entirely taxpayer-funded. I believe that loss of allowance for unreasonable absense is fair to all concerned,” Mr Goff said.