UNEMPLOYMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21241, 23 January 1931, Page 8

UNEMPLOYMENT.

MAYOR’S REQUEST FOR FREE GRANT. BOARD’S POSITION EXPLAINED. In reply to his request for a free grant of £2OOO the Mayor (Mr R. S. Black) has received the following letter from the Unemployment Commissioner (Mr Malcolm Fraser): — “ I have to acknowledge receipt of yonr letter of January 17 in further reference to your application for a free "taut of £2OOO for relief work in connection with unemployment, and detailing the works which you propose should be undertaken in the event of the grant being approved by the board. 1 am directed to advise you that the question of making free grants to local bodies from the Unemployment Fund is a very considerable extension of anything yet , approved by the board, which has confined its operations to subsidies, and since December 18 last has not approved any subsidies on a higher basis than £1 for £l, labour only. The free grant at Christmas time was a special effort to relieve the distress at that particular time and was in no way an indication of the board’s probable policy in connection with relief work for the unemployed. The probable fund at the disposal of the board will be considerably less than the amount which - the Government has spent annually during the past two or three years by way of subsidies only. Any considerable extension of the board’s operations by way of free grants would probably result in depleting the fund to such an extent that it would be impossible to carry out effectively relief works in the winter time when they may be more urgently needed than at the present time. Moreover the relief works being undertaken by local bodies are only reaching a portion. of the unemployed, and the board has an equal duty towards the rest of the unemployed for whom it must conserve expenditure of the fund so as to reach the maximum number. The whole question brought up in your letter of the policy of the board in regard /to free grants is receiving serious consideration, and as soon as a determination has been made I will advise you. In the meantime the board has not yet approved of a free grant of £2OOO to your council.” In reply the Mayor has sent the following letter:— “ I trust that your board will seriously consider the free grant, as I see> that the Prime Minister; (Mr G. W. Forbes) stresses the need for work instead of sustenance. Free grants mean quite a strain on the City Council as it has to find a large sum of money to pay for everything other than actual wages for labour, so that the payment of sustenance by your board would relieve the City Council of finding money for material, etc., that would have to be provided to complete any work tor which it received a free grant for labour only. You state that the probable fund at the disposal of the board will be considerably less than the amount which the Government has spent annually during the past two or three years by way of subsidies only. This e.urely means that the Government is being relieved to that extent, and the levy is really relieving the Government instead of relieving the unemployed. The Government’s i action in dismissing such large numbers j of men in its employ is throwing a i further burden on your board that cannot possibly he carried by then revenue produced by the 30s levy. The position briefly is that the people have been j taxed 30s per annum to provide work for the unemployed while the Government has increased the number of unemployed and withdrawn its support in the matter of subsidies.” The Mayor has also applied for £3OO of the sum of £2500 which the board has been authorised to spend. UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD. APPEAL TO LOCAL BODIES. REASON FOR REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, January 22. The Unemployment Board, in an appeal to local bodies, states that not only should there be no slackening of local ! bodies’ efforts but they should be increased to the greatest extent of their resources. Co-ordination with the board’s efforts and a determination on the part of each local body to do its share in promoting schemes to provide work are the main essentials to the relief of distress. Some local bodies’ applications for subsidies for public works have been refused, and they are feeling somewhat unsympathetic with the board in consequence, but in ail cases there has been sound reason for the refusal—either the application was made after the total grant had been allocated or the work was a profit-earn-ing venture or the application was on | account of ordinary maintenance work which would have to be done in any case by the local body’s own staff. Many ; millions of pounds would be required to meet all the demands made on the hoard’s limited funds. REDUCTION IN GOVERNMENT SALARIES. URGED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. . (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, January 22. The Chamber of Commerce passed the following resolution;—“That in view of the present ,economic conditions and the urgent need of reduction in production costs in all industries, we respectfully urge the Prime Minister to reduce all the official salaries from the highest through all grades of legislative government and the civil service, and that award wages be reviewed.”