PETONE UNEMPLOYED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 265, 5 August 1931, Page 5

PETONE UNEMPLOYED

Difficulty With Funds It was stated in yesterday’s “Dominion” that difficult” was being experienced in Lower Hutt in affording unemployment relief through the fact that the Unemployment Board has cut down the amounts asked for each week. Petone is in a similar position. At the present time there are 692 men registered in Petone as unemployed. Of these 597 men are in receipt of work. The remainder have not yet qualified to be put on work. When the bureau opened the first return showed 464 registrations, and 338 men receiving work. For this, week the Petone bureau asked for £746 as the amount required lor unemployed relief. The board cut this down to £6OO. Representations by Mr. Walter Nash, M.P., resulted in the board increasing that sum to £6BB. For the week ending August 15 the bureau wants £lO3B, and has been informed that only £6OO will be allocated. The fourth week is always the heaviest, as it is on that week that everybody is working. It has been found necessary to utilise the money that would have gone to single men (had they attended) for other men. This was done for the first time yesterday. Ten men did not turn up, so another ten men were engaged. Unless the men have a valid excuse for not ,turning up they will probably forfeit their chance of work for the at least will lose the day. _ While the number of men on the register is constantly changing, some men going off through getting work elsewhere, or being transferred, and others come on, there are at present on the register approximately 221 single men, 134 married men without children, 104 married men with one child. 70 married men with two children, and 75 married men with three or more children.

Since the bureau was opened in April, 899 men have actually been registered. A.s the number on the register is now 692, it will be seen that about 200 men have obtained other employment (mostly seasonal or casual) or have been transferred.

It was stated that some men who have been with an industrial concern for about live years have now been put off and told that they will be got in touch with again probably in September.