NEW RELIEF PLAN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22775, 8 July 1937, Page 14

NEW RELIEF PLAN

MEN ON SUSTENANCE SUBSIDY TO LOCAL BODIES OFFER OF UP jTO £4 A WEEK WAGES FOR FULL-TIME WORK [BY TELEGRATH —OWN CORRESPONDENT] Y.'ELLLN G-TOX. Wednesday A scheme by which it is hoped to take 500 men in the Wellington area off relief work and sustenance and place them in full-time temporary employment at Public Works rates was put forward by the acting-Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. A\ ebb, at a conference to-day of the Mayors and chairmen of local bodies in and around Wellington. Mr. ebb presided and the Minister of Public Works, the Hon. R. Semple, was also present, as well as local members of Parliament. The conference was convened by .Mr. Webb, who stated in his address that it was his desire to place 500 unemployed men in the Wellington area on full-time employment for four months. On behalf of the Government bo promised to subsidise the men's wages up to £4 a week for approved jbbs. The subsidv should enable local bodies to put into operation work of local or national importance.

Appeal lor Co-operation

If the local bodies and the Government could come closer together it should be possible to provide work of a suitable nature which would confer a benefit on the whole community. Mr. Webb pointed out that it meant a waste of energy and brains to have men on sustenance, and it was the Government's duty to do the utmost to assist the local bodies to create assets that would be of lasting benefit to themselves and to the country.

Distribution of Men The 500 men for whom work was proposed would be distributed among the local bodies in proportion to the number of unemployed each local body possessed. He appreciated that the scheme would mean an extra burden on the local bodies in so far as it meant they would have to supervise the work and provide material, but the extra amount imposed on them would be infinitesimal when compared with the benefits that would ."-cnio.

The representatives oi tin* local bodies responded to the Minif tor's appeal and offered every assistance to the utmost of their financial ability. The local bodies are now to draw up schedules of work for submission to tin* Minister for his approval. Visit to Northern Centres

iAs part of his campaign for finding useful employment for able-bodied men in co-operation with the various local bodies, Mr. Webb will leave on Sunday for an extended tour of the North Island, during which he will conter with the local body representatives in the respective localities. ■ On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week the Minister will be in Auckland, and on the Thursday hp will visit the Waikato, working across to.- Rotorua. On the following Monday. July 19, he will visit Tauranga, and on Tuesday will meet local bodies at 'NUTi'akatane and Opotiki. He is scheduled to reach Gisborne on the Wednesday, and will also visit Ruatoria. On Thursday he will leave on his return journey to Wellington. He will be away from the capital city for almost a fortnight.

MEN OUT OF WORK SOME DEPRESSED TRADES LABOUR SHORTAGE IN OTHERS In spite of the high unemployment figures in Auckland there is the anomaly that in many skilled trades the labour shortage is acute, operations being actually hampered by the- scarcity of workmen. The Auckland Placement Service has 7463 men registered in 546 separate trade classifications. Thirty-five trades alone account for 5682 men, which means that in oil trades the surplus of workmen fs only 1781. When a generous proportion is allowed to embrace men advanced in years and those unfit or partially unfit —a deduction that has' to be made generally in respect of ' unemployment figures to arrive at a true estimation of the position—it will be realised that as far as the great majority of trades is concerned the unemployment situation ■is not abhormal.

Among the 35 trades that supply the bulk of the labour surplus, eight occupations account for 3992 unemployed. These occupations, with the number registered as unemployed, are: Labouring, 2286; drivers, 434; salesmen, 249; clerks. 249; Sitoremen, 229; shopkeepers, 224; gardeners, 20S; caretakers, 113.

In some of these occupations seasonal work bulks largely, the present being the worst period of the year for employment, and that aspect has a bearing on the fact that about 50 per cent 'of the men who have been 'registering in the past few weeks with the Placement Service are not destitute and are not drawing sustenance.

There is still an acute shortage of good carpenters. At the moment there are no registered unemployed carpenters who are officially classed as fully efficient, some having disabilities in varying degree. For example, some men are unable to work on ladders or at any fair height from the ground. However, about 22 good carpenters will be discharged this month from Arapuni and will come on the Auckland labour market.

While the carpentering trade has drained first-class men from the market, such allied trades as bricklaying and painting are not in the same condition, and although there is a fair demand for jnen in such industries, good numbers are available. In other skilled trades, chairinakers, panel-bcaters, motor-body builders, wire workers, electrical engineers, sheet-metal workers, boat builders, registered electricians, coppersmiths, tailors and cutters are badly needed by employers. The large amount of constructional work .undertaken by several Government departments has caused a scarcity of draughtsmen. It is well known that operations in many directions are restricted because the number of draughtsmen available is inadequate. It is the new industries, or those which have developed in directions that onc ; e were not anticipated, which are chiefly feeling a labour shortage, a condition that suggests the need for some 1 scheme for training surplus men in the I depressed occupations so that they can ' take a place in the vitalised trades. I