UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 April 1933, Page 2

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

GOVR.-GENERAL’S APPEAL. [PEB PBESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, April 11. A few hours after the appeal in connection with the Governor-Gen-eral’s winter relief fund was published, an Australian visitor, who prefers not to disclose his identity, called dt Government House, Wellington, and handed in the following letter, with its accompanying donation: “I have read in this morning’s newspaper, the Dominion appeal of His Excellency, the Governor-General, and Lady Bledislo.e, on behalf of distressed people in all parts of New Zealand for contributions to a fund known as the Governor-General’s Winter Relief Fund. As a visiting Australian, who has made many pleasurable visitations to this delightfully-situated and loyal Dominion, during the last 25 years, I hasten to respond to the very worthy appeal, and show my hearty appreciation thereof by sending you enclosed herewith my humble contribution, £5O, towards the aforesaid fund. Wishing the appeal of His Lordship and Her Ladyship a most generous and quick response, I am very truly yours.—A Hale and Hearty Australian.” “FREE” LABOURERS. WELLINGTON, April 11. The presence of two men who have worked for the season at the freezing works and are styled “free labourers” by the men on the job, was responsible for a strike of one hundred relief workers at the Southern Crescent this morning. . The men approached the Unemployment Bureau, and were sent back. Officials who went to jobs found similar complaints being made, but the relief workers continued work, pending instructions from their union. It is stated that 125 men who were employed at the freezing works during, the season are now drifting back to the relief jobs, owing to the approaching close of the freezing season.

BRUNNER ALLOCATIONS. The following is a copy of recent correspondence between the Brunner Borough Council and the Unemployment Board. The Council’s Clerk wrote to the Commissioner of the Board as follows: — “Regarding the Board’s circular No. U.B. 206, referring to the portion of the allocation to remain unexpended in certain cases. The sentence in the first paragraph, stating that “Monies unexpended must be returned to the Board, and not used for giving additional work to other men.” In my Council’s opinion, this is unjust, as when the men do not receive their full quota of work during Ihe week, any additional caused through men listed and not working the time, is very acceptable to the former.” The Commissioner replied: — “In reply to your letter of the 21st instant, regarding Circular No. U.B. 206, respecting allocations under Scheme No. 5, I have to advise that the granting of allocations is a weekly operation as is the payment, of relief pay, and each week, must stand by itself in. order that finance may be controlled. The weekly allocation is based on the numbers of registered and eligible men and if all these do not present themselves for work, or if they obtain other work which would be expected at this time of year, Iho unexpected money is brought back into the Fund and made available for reallocation. If this were not done, and the surplus monies were distributed over the remainder of the men, it must be obvious that the present allocations could not be maintained.” ACCIDENT INSURANCE. Mr H. E. Holland, M.P., has re-.

ceived the following letter from the Minister of Employment: — "In reply to your letter of the 29th ultimo, J have to advise that arrangements arc now being finalised for the insurance against accident of unemployed men who arc prospecting through, the medium of the Board’s subsidy scheme and under supervision arranged by County Mining Executive Committees which were set up as a, result, of Mr Jessep’s recent visit to Nelson and the West Coast. The cover will bo arranged in the same manner as that which has been in operation for some time, in Central Otago, viz., by a deduction of 3d. or j 6d per week from the subsidies of j 15/- and 30/- granted to single men and married men respectively.” *