THE UNEMPLOYED

Southland Times, Issue 21257, 2 December 1930, Page 8

THE UNEMPLOYED

SUBSIDY PROMISED TIDING MEN OVER CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE AT CHRISTk CHURCH (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, December 1. That the Christchurch City Council has been promised a subsidy of up to £2OOO by the Unemployment Board for the provision of work to tide men over the Christmas period, was a statement made at a conference of local bodies to-day. The conference, which met for the purpose of considering the Unemployment Board’s offer of £25,000 in subsidies for the Dominion for Christmas work, was addressed by Messrs W. E. Leadley and F. L. Hutchinson, the two Canterbury members of the board. MEETING OF BOARD MEMBERS TO MAKE REPORTS. Wellington, December 1. The members of the Unemployment Board will reassemble at Wellington tomorrow after spending the week-end in the various centres in conference with local body representatives concerning the decision to make a total sum of £25,000 available throughout New Zealand for relief works over Christmas and New Year. Reports will be made to the board by the members upon the outcome' of their conversations and ways and means of distributing the money ufcm the conditional subsidy basis of £2 for Xl will be discussed. The first instalment of the annual levy of 30/- to be paid by all males over the age of 20 years fell due to-day and there was a notable increase of payments throughout the country. A large number had paid either the whole levy or the first instalment before. A WRONG TERM OPINION OF BOARD MEMBER. FIXING OF WAGES RATES. (Per United Press Association.) Auckland, December 1. “I think we can drop the words ‘relief work’,” said Mr George Finn, a member of the Unemployment Board, when addressing local bodies this ‘morning. “It is no longer relief work and there should be no opprobrium attached to people who’ have to accept work provided for them by the local unemployment committees. I hope before long the word unemployment will go out too. The board should have been called the employment board.” He also thought that the wages rates should be fixed by the Arbitration Court. PAYMENT OF LEVY TOTAL OF 150,000. Wellington, December 1. Payments of the unemployment levy arc coming in steadily all over New Zealand and up to to-day it was estimated that 150,000 payments had been made. The majority of people are paying one instalment. DEMONSTRATION AT MEETING MEN ENTER GALLERY DURING CONFERENCE. (Per United Press Association.) Christchurch, December 1. While the conference of local body representatives was sitting to-day to consider the unemployment problem, about 150 unemployed men entered the council room, where the meeting was being held and sat in the public gallery. They were told that the meeting was not public and were asked to leave, but when they refused to move the Mayor (Mr J. K. Archer) closed the meeting. The leaders of the unemployed waylaid the Mayor and attempted to speak to him but the Mayor refused to discuss anything with them under such conditions. Mr L. G. Sullivan, M.P, gave the men good advice, telling them to go away. Eventually the men left the building and listened to the speeches of their leaders from the steps of the building and carried resolutions before dispersing. CO-OPERATION WITH BOARD RELIEF WORK ON AIRPORT. Wanganui, December L At the public meeting which was convened by the Mayor, it was decided to set up a committee to co-operate with the Unemployment Board. The Mayor stated that the offer of £lOO from the Wanganui Aero Club for the unemployment relief work on the airport would be subsidized by £2 for £1 and a certain number of men would probably start on Wednesday. WORKING OF ACT’ EXPLANATION BY BOARD MEMBER. Dunedin, December 1. A large meeting of representatives of local bodies, which met Mr W. Bromley, a member of the Unemployment Board this afternoon, had several matters relating to the working of the Act cleared up. The meeting was called to ascertain if work could not be found for the men this month to enable them to tide over the Christmas season. Mr Bromley said that the Unemployment Act could, however, do something to minimize the distress which was being caused through unemployment and the board could do a good deal, provided that there was full co-operation by every worker, every employer of labour and every citizen. Without this co-operation the board could not be the success that it was anticipated that it would be and that it ought to be. The board desired to find work for the unemployed in the last month of the year at Christmas time and there were, at the present time, some 10,000 unemployed in the Dominion. It was impossible for the board to set machinery for sustenance in action between now' and Christmas and the question of co-operation, with productive industries and developmental work also, could not be dealt with before Christmas. To meet the position the board had decided to encourage public bodies to put in hand as much work as possible before Christmas. In Wellington, work had been found for about 350 unemployed. The board had decided to make an offer to the various centres of a subsidy of £25,000 and Dunedin, subject to adjustment, would be allocated £2,000, payable on a £2 for £1 basis. That was the board’s contribution immediately towards the relief of unemployment, the subsidy being for work that had not previously b(;en determined on in Dunedin. POSITION AT STEWART ISLAND. The unemployment problem at Stewart Island has been most acute during the last few months. The County Council has been doing its best to provide employment and at the last meeting of the Halfmoon Bay and Horseshoe Bay Harbour Boards it was unanunously agreed that the sum of £lOO be contributed to the county fund (or the relief of the unemployed.

At the request of the county chairman a meeting of the genuine unemployed men of Stewart Island was held in the Athenaeum Hall last Wednesday night, and as a result 38 unemployed men were able to receive a few days’ work on the maintenance of the tourist tracks for' we.ich the sum of £l5O has been granted. It is hoped by the time this amount is expended that other grants now on the estimates will be made available to provide further relief.