THIRTY-HOUR WEEK.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 660, 13 January 1933, Page 1

THIRTY-HOUR WEEK.

Mussolini’s Plan to Relieve Unemployment. " 1933 MAY SURPRISE US.” United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received ROME, January 12. Signor Mussolini, in a special interview with the “News-Chronicle,” said: “ The second half of 1933 may surprise us. Three problems must precede recovery: First, war debts must be cleared out of the way; secondly, there must be real disarmament, and thirdly, tariffs must be lowered and currency stumbling blocks removed.” Italy, he said, desired good relations with Jugo-Slavia. The present situation was not good, but the issue would not trouble the life of Europe. “We are not going to be militaristic,” he said. Signor Mussolini declared that he favoured the American proposal to solve unemployment by a 30-hour week.

British Government Opposes Geneva Proposal.

British Official Wireless. RUGBY, January 11. During the discussion of the proposal for an international Hours Convention, laying down a average working week of forty hours, at Geneva, at the meeting of the International Labour Conference, the delegate of the British Government urged that time should not be wasted on a proposal which, on close examination, must be regarded as impracticable. Attention was then drawn to the economic, financial, and technical difficulties anticipated if a convention was drawn up which a large number of countries would not ratify. Legislation to effect the change in Britain, he said, would cause an acute controversy, and if the proposal was adopted it would not appreciably contribute to the solution of the unemployment problem. In September, 1932, on the proposal of the Italian Government, the governing body of the International Labour Organisation, “ recognising that the intervention of the International Labour Office is necessary and urgent, not only in view of the fact that the World Economic Conference is to be held shortly, but also in view of the possible economic and social consequences of a possible" Increase" in unemployment,” decided that the technical problems concerning the reduction of hours of work should be studied at a Preparatory Conference to be held in January, 1933, and that its conclusions might possibly be submitted to the World Economic Conference. Mr Norman, British Government representative, submitted a resolution proposing that the governing body should consider the results of the meeting of the Preparatory Conference before deciding whether or not to place the subject of the reduction of hours of work on the agenda of the International Labour Conference. Mr Picquenard, French Government representative, opposed Mr Norman’s resolution, and urged that the governing body should at once place the question of “ the reduction of hours of w T ork considered as a means of preventing or combating unemployment” on the agenda of the 1933 session of the conference. The question should not be regarded as referring to the present crisis only, but from a more general point of view, and it should be laid before the conference at its next session. At a time when there were more than 25,000,000 unemployed throughout the and when public opinion was justly alarmed at the increasing gravity of the crisis, it would seem incomprehensible that the International Labour Organisation should postpone consideration of the problem. The question was placed on the agenda by 16 votes to 6, the British Government and five employers’ representatives opposing.