MONEY IN THE BANK.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 201, 25 August 1931, Page 7

MONEY IN THE BANK.

Thrifty Men Debarred from Relief Work. The position of unemployed men who are unable to secure relief work under the No. 5 scheme because they have a little money in the bank, was the subject of a question put to the Mayor at the meeting of the City Council last evening by Councillor F. T. Evans. He said that he had been approached by two men who said they had been unable to get any work for four or five months. These men had between £7O and £BO in the Savings Bank and as it was stated that in Wellington men with up to £l5O in the bank were eligible for relief work, they wanted to know why they were debarred in Christchurch. They contended, that it was not fair that men in similar circumstances should be treated differently in Wellington and Christchurch. The Mayor said that as Mr R. T. Bailey, officer-in-charge of the Labour Department, was present at the meeting, he would ask him to make a statement when the council went into committee. Subsequently Mr Bailey explained that no fixed limit was provided, but each case was dealt with on its merits. Men with money in the Savings Bank had to stand down until necessitous cases were dealt with.

SCHEME FOR WORK.

Proposal for Single Men with Dependants. The scheme of the Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P.) for the provision of work for some of the single men with dependents will be considered by the Unemployment Board to-day, according to a telegram received by Mr Sullivan from the Minister of Labour (the Hon S. G. Smith) to-day. Mr Sullivan stated to-day that the scheme involved a subsidy from the City Council to bring the wages up to 14s a day. It would help only some of those men who were not getting work and who had dependents. It would give one day’s work, or at the most two days, a week for perhaps a hundred men. It must be clearly understood that the matter had not yet been finalised, and the speaker did not know w'ether the proposal would have the approval of the Minister.

COUNTRY SENDS PRODUCE.

The good supplies of produce arriving this week from the country kept the staff of the central depot of the Pound Scheme busy this morning. Plentiful supplies of potatoes and other vegetables were sent in and carters were travelling to and from the railway today bringing the produce to the store. The goods are going out at the rate of thirty sacks a week, it was explained, and further donations w’ill soon be w’anted. Though the depot has fairly large stores of produce, other lines are getting low. Particularly on the staple goods there is a heavy demand and the depots at present need fresh supplies of tea, butter, sago, rice and flour. Clothing and boots are also reared.