UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1931, Page 12

UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

SUGGESTIONS FROM INGLEWOOD. ATTRACTION OF COUNTRY WORK. “That the No. 5 scheme be amended so that in country districts where there were boroughs of under "2000 population no single men be provided with work under that scheme; (2) that single men should work a five-day week at a minimum wage per day, as under the present system the four days off are spent in idleness with consequent deterioration of morale, the intention of the resolution being to make the 4A and 4B schemes more attractive than No. 5, whereas the reverse was the case at present.” As the Government had been asking for expressions of opinion on the question of unemployment relief the Inglewood County Council at a special meeting passed a resolution making these suggestions to the Government, as a result of experience of the various schemes, with a view to inducing single men to accept work under the 4A and 4B schemes.

Notification was received from the Prime Minister (Hon. G. W. Forbes) that the views of the council would receive the careful consideration of the Government.

The Hon. S. G. Smith, Minister of Labour, also wrote to the same effect. He further pointed out that the Unemployment Board had already made provision for dealing with men who had refused work offered them. If any such eases were brought under the notice' of the local unemployment committee or the local certifying officer they would be refused further relief under scheme No. 5 for an appropriate period. Mr. B. Larson, secretary of the Inglewood unemployment committee, notified that for June in connection with scheme 4A for farm labourers, four had been cancelled as unsatisfactory, three engagements had been renewed, in two cases terms had been completed, eleven fresh engagements had been made and 18 farmers weie willing to take men. One contract had been completed in connection with scheme 4B and one fresh contract had been authorised. Relief wages totalling £491 17s lid had - been ■ paid during the six weeks ending June 13. , The chairman (Cr. A. Corkill) pointed out that the council would have to go very carefully in regard to its expenditure. In its endeavour ti help the unemployed it had already expended on the roads in three months £2663 out of the total year’s allocation of £6453. The Unemployment Board expected the local bodies to help them but up to the present the Government had not brought forward a scheme with any finality. During the next two or three months the council would have to strain a point to help the unemployed and probably, when it came to the spring there would be more work available among the farmers, and possibly the council might be able to balance up by avoiding expenditure in the latter half of the year. At the present rate of expenditure the council would need to watch its finance closely, but it could not shut down on the unemployed in the middle of winter. A good deal of the expenditure had been for work that it would not be necessary to do later.

Cr. Jones agreed that the council should carry on as far as possible in giving work to the men. The engineer (Mr. Judd) pointed out that during the past two months royalty cheques totalling £ll3 had been paid, representing 4500 yards of metal that had been put on the roads, exclusive of what had been obtained out of their own pits. That would give some idea of the work that was being done.

Cr. Jones pointed out that the council had been paying 6d royalty for years, and he thought that in view of the hard times and the amount of work it was carrying out the council should at least get a 10 per cent. .cut. The engineer agreed that 6d was too much, hut the chairman did not think so, taking into consideration the damage to properties. The chairman said he had put the financial position before the council. They were anxious to do all they could to assist the unemployed, but he wanted councillors > know where the money had been expended. Councillors agreed that the council should carry on as at present for the next two oi' three months. Replying to a question the engineer said that°they had an average of from 40 to 60 unemployed working. Cr. Stuart held that they should confine the work to unemployed who resided in their district and not employ newcomers. The chairman pointed out that later on the council might without much expense be able to attach a. few unemployed to each of the permanent gangs. Some scheme had to be devised to overcome the difficulty which, he < agreed, was a big problem. He thought the solution was to make the men go back on the land, but it took money to do that.