UNEMPLOYED RELIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21029, 13 November 1931, Page 12

UNEMPLOYED RELIEF.

DEVELOPMENT OF FARMS.

EXTENDING NO. 5 SCHEME. NEW. PROPOSALS AUTHORISED. Farm development is now added to the scope of activities allowed to men employed by county councils under the No. 5 relief scheme, according to a decision of the Unemployment Board. Such work, however, is to bo undertaken only where the farmer, owing to the depression is unable to do the work himself, and a, strict check is to bo kept upon the operations of the new system to prevent abuses. It is proposed that the work to be undertaken shall be such as will benefit, the various districts concerned as well as the individual farmers on whose property the men are engaged. Drainage, tho clearing of creeks, eradication of noxious weeds and scrub cutting are instanced by the board as suitable avenues of employment. It will be competent for the local body controlling the men to obtain from tho farmer a contribution at least sufficient, to recoup itself in respect to its outlayin such services as transport and supervision. In some cases it may be possible for the local body to arrange with the farmer for the supervision, transport and insurance of the men, and, perhaps, for their accommodation for short periods, and then the variations of the No. 5 schema which are allowable may be adapted to suit the circumstances. Variations allowable under No. 5 scheme include an arrangement, whereby a man may be employed continuously until his month's ration of work is exhausted, and the advantages of employing a- man in this manner will no doubt outweigh other considerations in certain cases. The farmer also, under thescheme. might be asked to make a contribution toward the cost of the work undertaken on his property, and a promissory note taken for the amount agreed upon. As scheme No. 4a is more suitable for farm development work extending over long periods, work on farms undertaken by local bodies under the new proposals would principally be for short periods only. Before being sanctioned it should be approved by the certifying officer of tho Labour Department and the local unemployment committee. The Unemployment Board intends that the ordinary routine work on farms, should not be done under the new scheme, and that it should not have the effect of displacing labour that would otherwise be engaged. To ensure that unfair advantage will not be taken of the scheme, the procedure to be followed will probably be that a farmer desiring work done will first apply to his riding member, who will • submit the matter to the county council, which in turn will confer with tho certifying officer of the Labour Department. Where doubt or dispute arises the services of the fields inspector of the Lands Department will probably be called upon.