RELIEF WORK OFFICERS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19701, 5 August 1938, Page 5

RELIEF WORK OFFICERS

POSSIBLE REDUCTION PLANS OF MINISTER (P*rlianient»ry Reporter.) WELLINGTON, thig day. The Minister of Labour, the Hon. H T Armstrong, in the course of his soeech in the House of Representatives yesterday, indicated that he was considering making a reduction in the number of officers now employed in towns and cities of New Zealand to deal with unemployment. "Although we have by no means the number of unemployed that we had when we took office," said Mr. Armstrong, "w e still have the same number of officers. The time will very soon come when we will have to do away with some* of them." The Minister added that 192 officers were engaged in this work Most of them were under the control of the Post and Telegraph Department and he had to express his gratification to this- department for its valuable assistance, which had been largely responsible for the success that had attended this side of the administration dealing with labour and unemployment. The Minister added that the Rt. i Hop. J. G. Coates (Nat., Kaipar.a) had criticised the Government methods of using employment funds, and in reply to that Mr. Armstrong would say that v.before the present Governllent took "office the administration costs were a charge on the fund. All clerks en!ga'ged in relief bureaux were classified as.-, relief workers by the old ad- , ministration, but the present Government had classified these workers as , civil servants and had increased their wages.

Mr. S. G. Holland (Wat., Christchurch North): Have they been allowed to Join the superannuation fund? Mr. Armstrong: No, not yet.