UNEMPLOYED PROBLEM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20959, 24 August 1931, Page 11

UNEMPLOYED PROBLEM.

STRAIN ON THE FUNDS.

HOPE OF NEW POLICY.

REPRODUCTIVE WORK WANTED.

[FEOM OTTB OWN COE.EJSSPONDENT.] HAMILTON, Saturday. The necessity for providing more reproductive employment and less charity was urged upon the Minister of Labour, Hon. S. G. Smith, by a deputation of unemployed men in Hamilton to-day. The Minister was also asked that some relief from interest charges and rent be given unemployed men occupying Government dwellings.

In reply, the Minister said he considered Hamilton one of the few places wherp really useful work had been done in the past He pointed out that the money from the unemployment levy and the charge on wages, incomes and salaries was not coming in yet and as a result, the Unemployment Board to-dav was merely living on credit. Before the new money was available the board would be £250,000 in debt, which would have to be repaid to the funds which, by a very big stretch, it had been able to use. Mr. Smith added that the restrictions placed on single men, on those with money saved, on widowers and others had not been imposed for the purpose of creating friction, bat was necessitated by the plain fact that the Government did not have the money. The new Unemployment Board, which was free from political control, was in office to try to bring in some scheme to relieve the situation and he hoped shortly to be able to announce its policy. If it was possible to provide work in the country for the single men in the towns the position would be relieved for married nien. It was hoped that there would shortly be no No. 5 scheme, and that every "man would be employed on reproductive work. Referring to the matter of rents, the Minister said the situation bristled with difficulties. However, the position of relief workers in State Advances and Discharged Soldier Settler houses, would shortly be placed before Cabinet. In concluding, he asked the men to have a little more patience and expressed the hope that something more than had already been achieved would be done shortly.

NUMBER FIVE SCHEME. BURDEN ON LOCAL BODIES. RELIEF TO BE CURTAILED. The decision of the Manukau County Council that it can only employ under the No. 5 scheme men who have registered at bureaus in the county or sn adjacent boroughs will result in about 200 city men ceasing to be employed by the county as from to-day. Hitherto the council has been finding work for between 500 or 400 men. but the expense involved has made it. impossible to continue to carry tms responsibility any longer. Under the No. 5 scheme the Unemployment Board finds only the money required for wages, and the local body concerned is responsible for the expense of supervision, transport and insurance. In order to be able to make a reduction in rates the Manukau County Council cat. its budget very finelv, and it h<&s no further funds to continue employing men on the same scale as in the past. Naturally, it is desirous of giving preference to unemployed from within its own hounds, mod work will continue to be found for between 100 and 200 of these. Many local bodies are rapidly coming to the same position as the Manukau council and finding that the No. 5 scheme is putting too heavy a strain on their resources. The New Lynn Borough Council last week discussed the necessity of restricting employment in future to men living within the borough. It forwarded an appeal to the Unemployment Board asking it to institute work of a more permanent nature, and in the meanwhile it is "marking time" until the policy of the new board is disclosed. '•DRIVE" AT 50STHC0TE. A GENEROUS RESPONSE. The "drive" at North cote on Saturday for fond, clothing and cash, organised by the Norlhcote Unemployment Association. met with a generous response. As a result, immediate relief was distributed to necessitous cases in 82 homes. The supply of men's working boots and clothes is. however, short of requirements and further donations in this direction would materially assist the work of the executive.