GOVERNMENTS EMPLOYMENT POLICY.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 February 1936, Page 7

GOVERNMENTS EMPLOYMENT POLICY.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER.

{By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Feb. 4. The following statement was made to-day by Hon. H. T. Armstrong, Minister of Labour and Employment, on the unemployment question:— ‘‘The first act of this Government, taken immediately after being sworn into office, was to make provision for a Christmas bonus to the unemployed to ensure that a minimum amount of hardship was experienced during that festive season. A promise was then made that the Government would immediately after the holidays undertake a complete survey of the whole of the policy governing the administration of

unemployment relief. I am now in a position to say that I have, with the jeo-operation of the administrative been able to carry out what might be termed a preliminary survey. Further, following lengthy consideration by Cabinet of my findings and proposals, I am enabled vo make known the details of some of the immediate ;Bteps to be taken in attacking this .great problem. “This survey has not been confined

■to schemes previously introduce! to deal with the immediate question of relief. It has embraced all orner relevant factors associated with progressive and productive employment. The Legislation. “My investigation commence,.! with

:a complete review of tiie statutory provisions and of administration. This ex-

amination has revealed that immediate legislative changes are not necessary to * give provisional effect to the Government's policy for the existing icgislation ensures complete Government cou trol or both the administration and the fund, inasmuch as tho Minister of Lab•our is chairman of the Unemployment Board, which was constituted to assist in the administration, and that no ■moneys can be paid out of the fund except by direction of the Minister of Finance.

“Complete reorganisation of the administration which I have proposed

and which has been authorised by Cabinet aims to make the machinery

capable of giving effect to organised national development instead of merely coping with the evils arising out of rthe depression. National development is inevitably related to working conditions, wages, and all other factors associated with progressive and productive employment, and consequently it was been decided that the whole admiinisration shall be carried out under -the auspices of the Labour Department.

“This change is calculated to result an action being diverted from the unsatisfactory aspect of ‘ unemployment * .as such. In short, the Department will bo primarily an employment Department instead of a relief department. ‘ ‘This phase of changed policy will be dealt with more fully in another statement dealing with the establish-

ment of a ‘bureau of industry. 1 ‘‘ I consider it is of value at this time to set out in some detail this problem as my Government found it on -assuming rlS.ce. The total in receipt of relief on Decemb.;- 21 and definitely without any contract of employment whatever was 33,653. In addition to this number there were 21,628 engaged for full time on some contract of employment but not in every ease on •.standard wages and in receipt of some assistance from the unemployment ■fund. Weekly Income of Fund.

• ‘ The average weekly income into the fund following on the reduction of taxation from lOd in the £1 to Bd, is approximately £66,346. There has been, of course, a higher income during last year, assisted by a cash surplus as at ‘the commencement of the financial year, and the fact that the lOd in the £1 tax operated until September 30 last, but the weekly expenditure on the present basis exceeds £IOO,OOO. It will be seen, therefore, that the pra : blera, summarised, is that there are in excess of 35,000 men without any contract or employment; there are more than 21,000 men kept in employment by -subsidies from the unemployment fund. The weekly income with the reduced is in the vicinity of £67,000, while -.the weekly expenditure exceeds £IOO,OOO. On top of this is the essential necessity of providing gainful em-

ployment for such of those on relief •who are capable of undertaking work. ''The change, therefore, towards decent

■ employment can only be gradual, and the co-operation of all employers of labour both in the primary and secondary industries is urgently sought. ‘ 1 This is not an opportune time,

•either, for discontinuing any of the independent private supporting efforts that have characterised the period of •the depression. Belief work that has mo other merit beyond providing a task to be performed in exchange for sustenance is to be definitely abolished in future. All work where the whole or any part of the cost is met from the unemployment fund will, before ap- « proval is granted, require to provide wages at least equivalent to the national standard for the class of work performed. Gainful employment is the -only cure for unemployment, and in - future all branches of the State’s activities will be influenced by the guiding principle of accelerating the transfer of men back from the unemployment register to normal channels of employment. Immediate Steps "Immediate steps taken to gain this end will be:— 1. National development works that -will be of a reproductive nature.

2. Expansion of land development. 3. Development of secondary industries and expansion of existing iudus tries under economic organisation.

4. Gold prospecting —a progresisve change from the grub-staking scheme to systematic prospecting for reefs under expert supervision. 5. Encouragement to local bodies to inaugurate reproductive or utility works under standard conditions. ‘‘Where work cannot be found sustenance payments will be continued under amended rules, providing, inter alia, for the variation in the scales between cities and country to be discontinued, country rates being raised to the present city scale. As soon as the necessary administrative procedure can be formulated, improvements in the rules governing eligibility' for sustenance, particularly in regard to maximum private earnings before sustenance is effected, will be announced in detail to the various administrative officers throughout the Dominion. Such of those single men’s relief camps as are still in existence, and where it is imposisble to convert them into standard public works, will be discontinued at an early' date. Unemployed Women

“The question of relief to unemployed women is still under consideration. In the meantime steps are being taken to strengthen the women’s iocai administrative committees with a view to assisting to a more complete review of the conditions before any substantial alterations are attempted, but here again the main principle must, and will be, the transfer of registered applicants from relief back into gainful employment. ’ ’