FINDING WORK

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1929, Page 13

FINDING WORK

GOVERNMENT SCHEME

LABOUR MEMBERS' COMMENT

"IEEN T

MUST REGISTER"

The following statement on the question of unemployment by the four Wellington members of Parliament, Messrs. E. M'Keen, E. Semple, C. H. Chapman, and P. Praser, was handed to "The Post" this afternoon:—

"Ever since the1 commencement of the present session of Parliament, as in previous years, the Labour Party has constantly and consistently hammered away at the urgent necessity for the Government to grapple-effectively with the problem of unemployment, which is the direct cause of so much privation, destitution, misery, and' suffering, not only for the men and women who are out of work, but also for their wives, children, and other dependants. At last, after a long debate, the Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Wardj announced on last Saturday morning that the. Government would make arrangements to absorb all the unemployed in a period of not more than five weeks. Yesterday afternoon the Prime Minister invited all who are out of work to register at the Employment Bureaux of the Labour Department, and at Post Offices in j)laees where there is no Labour Bureau, so that an efficient system of engaging men and placing them on various jobs can be organised. He further stated that there were availalbe for the unemployed:— ' - "'"Various kinds of work—railways, lands, buildings, forestry, roads, and every kind of work that the Government is doing. We want the applications in. We are in earnest about it, and we want to absorb the labour offering. Every, class of work the Government has at its disposal will be utilised to absorb those out of work.*' "The Prime Minister also said that the first batch would be sent as soon as a sufficient number of applicants were available. "We desire to point out to those workers who are unemployed that this promise of the Government, although long overdue, if carried out, is the best opportunity yet offered to them to get employment. Everything possible should be done to assist, the Prime Minister,, and the Government, in this effort to effectively and efficiently carry out the letter and the spirit*of the very definite promise given. We believe, as the Labour movement has always contended, that with the resources at the disposal of the Government, the projected, .or any similar programme for finding work for the unemployed, can be carried \put. The commencement of seasonal occupations at this time of the year, will make the task somewhat easier, and, probably, will automatically reduce to some extent the actual number of unemployed. We urge that every unemployed worker, and, indeed, every citizen in the Wellington district, should co-operate with the Government in the work of organising useful work for those unfortunate enough to' be unemployed.

"The first step towards this end is to ensure that every unemployed man should register at the Labour Department's Unemployment Bureau in Dixon street, or at the Post Offices in the smaller centres.. Until the number of unemployed are accurately estimated the full sco"pe of tho .necessary arrangements cannot be ascertained. We, therefore, strongly recommend every unemployed man in the Wellington district to register at once. '

"If every unemployed woman also registered the extent of that particularly distressing side of tho problem could also be ascertained.

"In the past thero has been a marked reluctance on the part of tradesmen to register at the Government Employment Bureau, the reason being that comparatively few jobs in their own lino of work were ever available through that channel. There should be no hesitation now, at least on the part of building trades workers, as new public buildings are included in the Prime Minister's plan. Further, many of the unemployed, who registered in the past, often gave up in despair when, after weeks and months of weary waiting, no work was forthcoming, "others felt it useless to register. All this should now bo changed. For tho first time the unemployed are guaranteed work. Tho first step is for overy unemployed man to register his name at tho Employment Bureau. This should be done immediately."