UNEMPLOYMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20962, 27 February 1930, Page 12

UNEMPLOYMENT.

HEUEF WORKS EXPENDITURE. ILLUMINATING FIGURES. BIG INCREASE IN THREE YEARS. (Special to Daily Times.) ■ Tll . WELLINGTON, February 26. TT mina V n S fi ? ures are- published by the Unemployment Investigation Committee in its report to the Government ehow“L™,. t j le expenditure on unemployment relief works in New Zealand has increased in the last three years. The amounts expended on relief works in tbe chief centres are given as follows: 1026-27. 1927-28. 1928-29. Public Works s £ S sutTToZT soi: 130,090 379 ' 565 GBO - 333 Lands and Survey 14,240 27 * 530 50 ' 230 Department .. ~ Auckland City o.auO WrtUngton ’ "city 61 ' 2W 63 '°" 28 ' 523 'Chrfstchurch' City 11,937 76,300 48,923 Du C n"citV 6,704 39 ' 801 25 ' 303 Foutteen °' 7so 5 * 492 . local bodies .. 23,076 77,323 70,019 Totals ... .. 256,343 673,300 913,406 i . -th® committee draws .attention to the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin there was a greater expenditure on relief work between April 1927, and March 31, l!>28, than in the following'year. At the same time each of these years for the four cmet towns shows a considerably creator amount expended in relieving employment l b B a * “ 19 .26-27. If the large sum expended in Auckland m 1926-27 is removed it will be Been that the other three chief' towns used only £21,816 to assist the unemployed. 11l 1927-28 the Auckland City Council increased its expenditure on relif* Worlis hy £IBOO, whereas the other / cn fe s lucre Ased the amounts f&'i? r / hlB i urpose by approximately £104,035 for the- year 1927-28, the individual increases being aefollows;—Wellinjrton, £64,363; Christchurch, £33.097* and Dunedin, £6575. f- wr % amounts expended by 1 TU 1 ® , w orks Department and the mSit^° r ’ Sfc S ? ryl qe the three years under review furnishes interesting and wf?T hat *. . rUununa'ting information. Briefly stated, it is this, that as the expenditure by the local bodies from which returns were received fell away in 1928- . there, was a correspondingly large increase in the amounts used by the two mg increases of £300,828 and £22,700 respectively over the previous year Also J he ® am ® Year the Lands and Survey D^ P ks tmeDt expended £3so ° on relief

"As was to be expected,”'the committee remarks, the slackening off in the Triih tS +b f tle J arger c loeal bodies to deal 3*™ u problem of unemployment has u^rf g nf about increased activity on the pa,rt of the Government in establishing total amount expend?! by the IS local bodies that furnished returns for the three years was £559,542. The expenditure of the Public Works ?nd a t r^ e T fc * . the S H° Foreat Ser viS totaiifd f WioFi 1 Department totalled £1.285,498 during the same period Of the grand total of £1,845,040 wages absorbed £1301,774, or 7950 per ce!t and a sum of £543,256, or. 29.44 per cent ’ w a a ®r required to meet overhead and other

CHRONIC UNEMPLOYMENT. One phase of the work of the Unemployment Investigation Committee ,was 16 examine the numerous cases of those who may be termed chronic unemployable. The committee noted that considerable num£l r 3 had been on the registers tor over 12 months, and seemed to have a sta Be of more or 'less chronic unemployment. One of the members of tUe committee was appointed to visit'the tour chief centres_ to inquire into these cases. _ A searching investigation was made into oyer 50 per cent, of the cases eacn man being _ interviewed, and reports were obtained in regard to them from previous employers and citizens to whom they were known. Seasonal unemployment seemed most marked in' Christchurch, and unemployment due to retrenchment on municipal works in Auckland. Unemployment due to displacement by new processes appears common to all centres. There are comparatively few recent immigrants in the number. The reason given _- y a PP“Cants for their unemployment was, in 393 cases, lack of employment" in their usual occupation, while 13 were un- ? e -Pj aced on account of being •unfitted for heavy work. Four recent * in e 'T Zealaa d found themselves unable to get placed in this country, while eight men left their last employment because they thought the wages too low, borne 299 men were classified as unskilled labourers the remaining 154 being widely distributed among no fewer than 39 separate occupations. Motor drivers (21 1 farm hands (14), and carpenters (12) were the only other occupations of any numerical significance. Insobriety was a contributing factor to unemployment in 29 cases, while m 79 cases immobility dim to illness of a defendant was a circurastMce rendering, the search for work more difficult. Lack of industry” (16 cases), disgruntled nature” (nine cases), “unready (40), roving disposition” (12) and general inefficiency” (five eases)’ also appeared in the classification, while the state of general health was a factor in 46, physical disability in 26, and age in 38 cases.

„ ■ EDUCATION, borne 62 of the 453 men interviewed were under 25 years of age. Inquiry as ?P l c ' b ? obns .these men showed tnat 57 had a primary school education only, while two spent in addition one year at a, secondary school, and three had technical school training. „ It was noteworthy,” the c-.mmittee remarks, that only 11 of these 62 men are. at present following tho same occupation as they did immediately after leaving school. Of nine who started as factory hands seven have drifted into general labour, while seven of the 10 former message boys are now labourers.

THE COMMITTEE’S PROPOSALS. A PLEASING FEATURE. COMMENT BY PROFESSOR OP ECONOMICS. (Special to Daily Tunis.) „ CHRISTCHURCH, February 26. A Phasing 1 feature of the report of the Special Unemployment Committee is that, after a full investigation, the report clears up the prevailing fogginess regarding unemployment insurance,” said Professor A. H. Tocker, professor of economics at Canterbury College, when asked this morning for his comments on the committee s proposals. “ The report states emphaticaHy, he added, “that since the xisii ot unemployment is incalculable no w nd , s £ heme <> f insurance can be devised for the country as a whole Due tentative proposals outlined bv the «v+w ttee I ? a J r -. bo r /K al, ded as to some extent a substitute for insurance Thcv a i tho whole b, ' rden °f providing relief is thrown upon the community and not shared between the. workers employers and the Government, as is’probably the case with an unemployment scheme. The moderate scale of relief payments suggested is no surprise to those who are familiar with similar scales in other countries, for experience has shown that relief payments can only be a means ot preventing the worst cases of destitux 0 wu l e , bas ' s °f taxation suggested to provide funds for the scheme ims the advantage that if will hurt no one very much and will make all sections ot the community feel some personal interest in lessening the burden of unemployment.”

THE COMMITTEE’S’ REPORT. STRONG CRITICISM BY MANUFACTURER. “ SOMETHING BETTER EXPECTED.” (Special to Daily Times.) CHRIST CHURCH, February 20 i i U r eor K. 0 * linn . president of the Auckland Manulacturers’ Association, who is at present in Christchurch, had sometuing to say in conversation with a representative of the Press to-day in regard to the report of the special commitky tile Government to inyestigate the problem of imemploym'v m New Zealand. Mr Finn said that he J\as very disappointed with the report, ibey had waited many months for the lepoit, which could have been compiled ~ y a , ny decent newspaper reporter in a datjoni°nfk?v. US ' He said the recommendations of the special committee were a gi eat disappointment. After waitin'* 12 months, something much better was naturally expected What was wanted nas a scheme which would lessen unemployment. They did not want to see it made permanent. Any man in the street coukl suggest relief work and . relief pay, ho!. t they wanted to ueai about. Unemployment, said Mr nioo’f WaS J argely due , to the extended use of machinery, and if civilisation were to Keep pace with mechanical improvenent the problem of finding other work m place of that dispensed with through machinery would have to be faced To propose unemployment insurance. and relict works was simply to follow the line m Jf a fi re s ls , tance * The proposal to remove the.duty on live stock foods was ludicrous. There were ample supplies of foodstuffs in New Zealand to meet all xr ds ’ H the duty were removed and New Zealand became at all dependent °° oVerseas TJ supplies, serious consequences would follow. One of the reasons for affording protection to the wheat grower was the necessity for making the wheat-growing industry self-supporting. This applied with still greater force to ,ew Zealand's supply of food for live fvnli XT ther rr e T er< b a drou S flt in Aus- ’ t New l Zealand's supply of foodstuffs for stock from that source would do cut on.

Mr Finn went on to say that New Zealand carried more live stock per - head ot population than any other country in tne world, and it was one of the few countries which was entirely self-support-'f® P f the , matter of live stock .foods. Ample foodstuff was available, and the quantity could be increased at will New Zealand earned practically as many dairy cows as there werg people in the Domimon, and 20 shlep per head of the human population. No other country had a carrying capacity. The United States of America came next to New Zeaif“ d thlS respect - At present 'S?® w «e more protein foods availthl' Ze u an . d for live stock than the market could absorb, and they were fact g tha? 1( H y lncreased - Ap art from the it was unnecessary to import foods for stock, there were decided objections to so doing. In the first place it the development of the DoXse insWl r “°? r «a and would deN™ 7 i ßte j d of mcrease employment, stud was , becoming the of its on account of anv °.f 5- dltlon £ nd the absence r ? n /J orm °f disease here. Imnorted foodstuffs n-ouM bring in more weds cbMk P °fh lb 0 S ° me dw ?a se also, and thus progress which the Dominion was making New Zealand should be an an -p-ter d of be 4S As an illustration of the weakness of it was in Australia. Immediate!* S& ‘SKm r^d'Slhr 1 " I th " S. feTS!;" removed Jif £ *iafl? 'Er. creased by 2d a bad ? een inNew Zealand dutv-Wh -b ?. s“j ) V nt of the off. The consumer *1 had been taken benefit. f ° re J[? celved 110 happen if they Removed "th dul” 8 W0 ? Id Ported foods for Xk tH fluty on

deputation to city council

REQUEST FOR EARLY ASSIST-

ANCE.

position °nnemnln P: Present, the City cSnff aSn? ®® t* 0 ? assistance, a deputation from i lts sara f - It certainly, does not give me vei-v fA? c /r t o'?. m “i" t m/S tragic,!' said Mr ’Connor, The depuS tion had come to the council to see what LTH d ,° for these unfortunate men many of whom did not have enough money to buy the necessities of life. To whom better could the deputation come than to the counc 1? The council had spent a great deal of money during the past? year and he wanted it to spencf no less during the coming year. They had seen reports in the newspapers regarding a proposed insurance scheme, but he would not like K co ™ cll to rest on its oars and think that this would fill the bill. At the present time there were hundreds of men in .Dunedin who had to live and could not find work. The report to which he had referred had stated that the average length of unemployment had been 30 weeks. Would any man in the room like to be out of work for that time? The deputation did not ask the council to solve the problem, but to see that the people of Dunedin were as free as possible from unemployment during the comln.S, year. He had had something to do w . l ,th the problem, and he bad seen some picitul cases of women being at their wits end to find food for their children. He had also seen children going to school without any lunch. He knew that the council had a great deal of work to do in the next few months, and the committee would like the council to expedite that work as much as possible. He had been told by a councillor that more than £25,000_ had been spent on unemployment relief in the past year. In addition, a large amount had been spent on flood relief and, to speak plainly, it had been a God-send to the unemployed of Dunedin. He asked the council to spend as much as it could. He felt confident that he could appeal to it to do more than its share, as it had done in the past. The men wanted work, and not charity. Mr Kindley said that he was present as the representative of the Manufacturers’ Association because it had been accused of being lukewarm in connection with unemployment. The association knew that the council had done nobly, but_ it thought that the " cap in hand business ’* had to stop. A cure , was needed, and the only way he could see to effect that cure was for the people to buy New Zealand-made goods. The association had had conferences with the Trades and Labour Council, but he was afraid that they had not progressed very far. He was sure that the council would do all it could. Mr Hinton, who represented the Council of Christian Congregations, asked the council to look at the question from a humanitarian point of view. As a paxson he might quote a text. It was: “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” He hoped that the financial wizard of the council, who had done so well in connection with the Town Hall, would be able to find a solution. Who would object paying a little more in the shape of rates to help the unemployed? He could talk for a long time telling tho council of sad and needy cases. The social workers’ funds were becoming sadly depleted.

In reply to' a request from Cr Mnnro that he would explain the constitution of the committee. Mr Connor stated that the Unemployment Committee consisted of representatives of the Chamber of Commerce. the Manufacturers’ Association, the Employers’ Association, the churches and members of the City Council. It was representative of every shade of thought. Cr Clark, who, at this stage occupied

the chair, referred to a statement made by Mr Connor that men might be era* ployed in tree-planting. The difficulty, lie stated, was in obtaining suitable land. I lie council had tried to obtain control of some land but had been unsuccessful. It also tried as far as possible to buy blew Zealand-made goods. A recommendation would come before the committee that it should authorise a 10 per cent, supplementary loan to the unemployment relief loan. It would do all that it could during the coming year. Cr Mitchell, in moving that the matter bo referred to the Finance Committee for consiclcration with the estimates, stated that he disagreed with Cr Clark in regard to the question of tree planting Land could be procured at a sufficiently cheap rate. He intended to make it his business to investigate the question with the superintendent of reserves. The monev should not be spent on relief work, but on work which would enable the council to obtain a return.

Cr Wilson who seconded the motion, disagreed with Cr Mitchell. He stated that the money had been spent on urgent i\oik, which had saved “the council's finances.

The motion ivns carried. ADDITIONAL LOAN MONEY

At a later stage of the council's meeting, the recommendation of the Finance Committee was adopted, that steps be taken to obtain authorisation for the raising of a 10 per cent, supplementary loan on the authorised unemployment relief rn'ormf £19,000. The additional sum (£1900) is required by the Works Committee _ for the completion of sundry works in the relief loan schedule. Cr Cl ar k (chairman of the committee) said the additional sum would enable the Works Committee to complete certain works on which the unemployed were engaged. With the amount now recommended the council, would have spent, f-?ftr n K g n %. financial yeari the sum of £29,650, including subsidies, etc., in relieving the unemployed situation in the city.

A councillor; And the Leith.' Ur Clark said he was not including the expenditure on the Leith. The amount he had named had been provided by the City Conned for the unemployed. It was satisfactory that they had been able to find that sum, and at the same time it for- 8 j t j. G £ re^a dG that the necessity existed