UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20795, 11 February 1931, Page 15

UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD

EFFECT. OF NO. 5 SCHEME.

WORK FOR 2800 MEN.

OVER 2000 STILL IDLE*

Although the No. 5 scheme of the Unemployment Board has only been in operation since Monday about 2800 of the unemployed have been given work by local authorities in Auckland and suburbs. The men have been given from two to four days' employment a week until the end of March.

A meeting of the Auckland Unemployment Committee was held yesterday to determine ways and means of finding work for those in need. Of the 5000 unemployed registered in Auckland about 2200 are still unabsorbed. These mainly comprise single men or married men without children. In order to provide for them the local committee has communicated with all the local bodies requesting that assistance bo given at once if possible. At present the Auckland committee is faced with a greater difficulty than besets most other local committees, owing to the fact that there is so large a number of unemployed within the city—a greater number than work can be found for at the moment. It is hoped, however, that the locak bodies shortly will be able to find something for tho major proportion of the men now without work. The Auckland committee feels that it has more than its share to cater for, owing to the drift to tho city as well as an influx from overseas. A deputation from the Unemployed Association waited on tho committee yesterday and expressed dissatisfaction with the Unemployment Act and the board set up under the Act. The chairman, Sir George Richardson, replied that the local committee was not a political organisation and was not prepared to discuss political matters. However, as citizens who had voluntarily given their services to help tho unemployed the members of the committee were ready to discuss any concrete proposals for helping to find work for the unemployed in Auckland. No proposals were forthcoming from the deputation, which, aft el withdrawing, addressed a crowd outside the Labour Department's offices.

WATERFRONT ROAD.

COUNCIL LOAN APPROVED.

WORK TO PROCEED SHORTLY.

The work of constructing three more sections of the Waterfront Road will probably be proceeded with in the course of the next few days.

The City Council received . advico by telegraph yesterday afternoon that the Loans Board had sanctioned tho raising of £29,250 proposed by the council for this work. The actual authority for the raising of the money will come by post and until this is received and the necessary steps to obtain the money have been taken by the council it will not be possible to proceed with the work. The council, however, will not allow any time to be lost and as most of the engineering arrangements have been completed it should be possible to make a start with actual construction work by the end of this week.

The three sections of the road to be built are those from Mission Bay to Kohimarama Wharf; thence to the Eohiniarama Hall and from the hall to Averill Avenue. The loan to be raised will carry with it a subsidy of about £15,000 from the Unemployment Board. All the men to be employed on this work will be drawn from the Labour Bureau, and it is hoped to keep 100 men engaged. The first men employed will be guaranteed a . fortnight's work and will then have to give way to another draft of 100. This plan will bo followed until the work is completed. ('

MEASURES AT OTAHUHTJ.

EXTENSION TO MANUREWA.

At a meeting of the Otahuhu Unemployment Committee last evening ifc was reported that £217 had been spent on subsidising work under the No. 2 scheme. In connection with the No. 5 scheme the committee had placed 113 men with the Otahuhu Borough Council and 45 with tho Papatoetoe Town Board. Mr. A. W. Hall, M.P. for Hauraki, reported on his interview with the Unemployment Commissioner regarding the committee's recommendation that efforts be mado to subsidise work for skilled tradesmen at their respective callings. The commissioner, he said, had stated that there was no hope of this being done at present. An application from the Manurewa Town Board to be represented on the Otahuhu committee was granted, and a sub-committee will be set up to operate in Manurewa.

COMMITTEE AT PUKEKOHE.

CO-OPERATION OF COUNCJIL.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] PUKEKOHE. Tuesday.

It was announced at a meeting of the Pukekohe Borough Council last evening that, in response to the invitation from the council, various bodies had appointed members to form a local unemployment committee. The council decided to take advantage of the Unemployment Board's No. 5 scheme to undertake works in the borough during the next few weeks.

WORK AT HAMILTON.

IMPROVEMENTS. IN BOROUGH. [by telegraph.—own correspondent.] HAMILTON, Tuesday. Work has been found by the Hamilton Borough Council for 260 men under the Unemployment Board's No. 5 scheme. The work will consist of scrub-cutting at tho cemetery and of improving the streets and footpaths. ,