UNEMPLOYED

Evening Star, Issue 21785, 30 July 1934, Page 14

UNEMPLOYED

AND DEPENDENT CHILDREN BOARD'S LIBERAL INTERPRETATION [From Odr Correspondent.] WELLINGTON, July 30. Tho Unemployment Board has been giving consideration to the question whether .there should be some concession made to relief workers in respect of dependent children. Tho practice is that when children attain the ago of sixteen years, the relief worker cannot count them in assessing the scale of his assistance from the funds. Bur there are conditions under which a child over the age of' sixteen years may be still dependent, and this point was discussed by the deputy chairman of the hoard (Mr Bromley), with the Christchurch Unemployment Commit tee recently, when it was pointed out that invariable application of this rule resulted in hardship. It has been decided by tho board that in cases whore dependent children over tho age of sixteen years are still attending school, or are unable to work or attend school owing to physical or mental disability, that they will be still regarded as dependent, and the relief worker will not receive lessoned assistance because they have attained tho age of sixteen. There will be no deduction from the relief scale while tho children in question remain at school, or are physically or mentally deficient. Another aspect of tho problem affecting relief workers’ children was raised in Auckland, where Hr Bromley was asked 1 Uy the Unemployment Committee to - maintain the relief scale in eases where a workers’ child under the ago of sixteen had been able to secure a paid position. Mr Bromley stated that lie sympathised with this request, and the matter having come before the board, it has confirmed his view that if a boy or girl secures employment before reaching tho age of sixteen, this will not prejudice the father’s position in relation to unemployment relief.