AUCKLAND LABOUR BUREAU.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 8986, 25 February 1888, Page 3

AUCKLAND LABOUR BUREAU.

The first meeting of the Auckland Labour Bureau was held yesterday afternoon, at Mr. 0. Mays' office, Palmerston Buildings. The members present were: Messrs. W. H. Hales (District Engineer), C. Atkin, W. Crowther, and O. Mays. Mr. Hales was called to the chair. He said _ the first thing they had to take into consideration was a communication received from the Under-Secretary of the Public Works Department. It was as follows :—

To the Chairman of the Labour Bureau, Auckland.—l am directed by the Minister for Public Works to forward to you, for your information, the enclosed copies of forms and notices issued by the Labour Bureau at Dunedin, which may possibly be of use to your bureau as a guide in the event of your considering it desirable to issue such notices, and I also enclose herewith copies of two newspaper reports of meetings of the Dunedin Bureau, aa illustrating the icopo of the work undertaken by that organisation, which the Hon. Mr. Mitchelson considers cannot faU to have done a great deal of good towards the reducing the burden of the unemployed in the colony. The notice was as follows — Employers of labour and the working classes are hereby Informed that an unpaid Board of Advice in connection with the Government Labour Exchange, Dunedin, has been formed for the purpose of extending its usefulness as a medium of communication between employers of, and applicants for, labour throughout the provincial district. The Board will meet fortnightly for taking the state of the labour market into consideration, and so advising and assisting the secretary in carrying out the objects of the Exchange as may appear most expedient. Forms of application can be obtained at the principal post-offices, telegraph-offices, railway stations, and police-offices, and be posted free of charge to the Immigration Officer, Dunedin, who will supply the class of labour applied for, if available, with the least possible delay. Persons wanting employment are invited to communicate personally or by letter with the Immigration Officer.— John Hislof, Chairman.

In answer to Mr. Atkin the Chairman said he had nothing to propose. There was the fact that there were a large number of unemployed. There were 75 employed stonebreaking, and they were earning about 4s 6d a day. They had broken 2550 yards of metal since December 10, and the place was now blocked up, so that they would not be able to go on much longer. The whole of this metal was comeatable, and 1000 yards had been offered to the City Council for Domain purposes. Mr. Crowther said he presumed their principal function would be to find a market for the metal or other employment for those who were now engaged breaking it, and he suggested that they should advertise that these men wanted employment. Mr. Atkin asked what funds the bureau had to work on.

The Chairman said he thought it would be wise to apply to the Government for some funds, unless they meant to take a wider view, and find private employment for those men.

Several works on which the men could be employed were suggested, amongst others the West Coast Road, from Waiko- ■ miti via Nihotapu, but Mr. Mays, speaking from the experience of the Waitemata County Council as to relief works, considered it would be very unsatisfactory to send those unemployed into the country on works of this sort without knowledge, without tools, without houses, and withont supervision. . Mr. Atkin said the question was whether the Government would place funds at their disposal to carry on works, or whether they should become simply a labour bureau. Mr. Crowther said before they could ask the Government to place funds at their disposal, they should indicate how they proposed these should be expended. It was finally agreed that Mr. Hales should obtain information from the Government as to what funds they would place at the disposal of the bureau, and as to what works they were prepared to sanction, and that in the meantime he prepare a list of the trades and occupations of those who were unemployed. The meeting then adjourned for a fortnight.