THE No. 5 SCHEME

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 258, 14 October 1932, Page 13

THE No. 5 SCHEME

CONDITIONS EXPLAINED. COMMISSIONER’S LETTER TO BOROUGH COUNCIL. That some misunderstanding appears to exist in regard to the variation in rates of pay under the No. 5 unemployment scheme was mentioned by the Unemployment Commissioner in a letter received by the Hastings Borough Council last evening when he explained that the work ration quoted in the recent circular outlining the changes made in the scheme, represents merely the maximum relief possible where the full monetary allocation was available, and where work was divided equally over a three-weekly period. The main objection advanced against the revised conditions was in respect of the fractional parts of days mentioned in the above circular. No employing body was compelled to require men to work for fractional parts of days; several methods of adjustment were possible and would meet the great majority of cases, e.g., (a) The hours of work per day may be lengthened so as to absorb the frac-

tional parts of days; (b) work may be arranged by co-operative contract based on unit rates which aim to return to the average workman an amount not exceeding the approved basic rate; (c) work may be spread over four weeks, in equal or unequal periods. j The only condition the board lays down was that neither the monetary allocation nor the individual maximum work ration may be exceeded. The communication was referred to the Unemployment Committee.