UNEMPLOYED BILL

Hokitika Guardian, 11 November 1933, Page 5

UNEMPLOYED BILL

BRITISH REFORMS ANNOUNCED IN NEW MEASURE (Per British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, November 9.

The. Government's Unemployed Bill, winch has reached the first reading in the House of Common's, provides for far-reaching reforms in the unemployment insurance scheme. It takes out of the hands of tile local public assistance authorities all of the unemployed men, who now are subject to the “means’’ test for transitional payment -and poor relief: These unemployed are to come under a new central authority, called the Unemployment Assistance Board, and comprising five members, with its own officials throughout the .country, who will i be working under prescribed regula-j tions.

The Board will have charge of unemployment relief, and also of the training of the insurance workers who drop out of the insurance benefit, and also of four millions of uninsured workers. It will be responsible for the relieving of all needs, other than medical need in each applicant’s household. Taking into account its available resources, the Board may provide courses of training to enable persons to regain physical fitness. The local public assistance authorities retain their powers to assist the sick, the aged, and the infirm. ;

The Bill also provides for extending the period of the benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Scheme from 26 weeks to 52 weeks.

A statutory committee will be set up to recommend any change necessary to keep the unemployment insurance -scheme solvent and self-support-ing. It also will draw up a scheme for the insurance of agricultural work-

FNORMOUS AMERICAN SCHEME

WORK FOR FOUR MILLIONS

WASHINGTON, November 9

It was revealed to-day that food for over sixteen million of needy persons, In addition to the jobs .for four million of those unemployed, as cabled on November 8, will be pert of the Government’s plan to avoid want by the winter. It is estimated tha the relief programme will cost one billion dollars.

The officials stated'that the .plan fis one of enormous scope and unique in character, and that never before in history has there been such a Government undertaking to feed, to clothe, and to find jobs for citizens. There are about 3,370,000 families, with an .average of 4.4 persons each, on the new relief rolls. AUmost half of 500,000,000 dollars of an allotment has already been spent. The Relief Administrator, Mr Hopkins, plans to buy coal, blankets and clothing, and even will be paying rent •for thß needy. Additional camps a r e to be opened for the transient jobless persons.-

There is another programme, which is frankly called experimental. It is to provide small homsteads for the unemployed, which, it is estimated, will cost twenty-five million dollar'!. Enough of such applications have already been filed to use three hundred million dollars.

US. WHEAT DESTRUCTION ' . WASHINGTON, November 9. It is announced that the wheat purchases by the Farm Credit Administration for distribution to the destitute unemployed totals 11,579,000 bushels.