BETTER POSITION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20648, 24 June 1935, Page 7

BETTER POSITION.

Relief Workers in Christchurch. CITY SYSTEMS COMPARED. It was the general opinion of the members of the Christchurch Unemment Committee at a meeting this morning, that the lot of the relief worker was better in Christchurch than in Auckland, where the City Council recently raised a loan to alleviate the unemployment position. When the position in Anckland had been explained. Mr W. E. Leadley said it was not so attractive as it seemed. Five hundred men had been taken on at full rates, but the others were on sustenance. He thought the committee should urge the Government to put in hand major public works at standard rates of pay. Questions Answered. The discussion was raised when a letter was read from the Town Clerk of Auckland, in which questions asked by the committee concerning the loan raised by the Auckland City Council for the relief of unemployment were answered as follows: The number of men taken from No. 5 scheme jobs in Auckland and placed on works under the loan was 508, but not all of these were on full-time employment. That represented, on an average basis, 30 per cent of the unemployed. Some erf the men in Auckland were employed for %he time they were entitled to under their relief allocation and some were employed for a 40-hour week. The Unemployment Board paid 10s a day in the first case, and 35s a week in the second. The pay received by the men was 14s 7d per day. The relief workers formerly employed by the Auckland Council, who had not been gipen full-time work under the loan, and for whom the Unemployment Board had not found other work, had been placed on sustenance. From All Angles. Mr J. W. Beanland said it was no use talking loans. He had gone into/ the question of standard rates of pay from all angles and had found that, taking the amount of money voted by the City Council for the Works Committee to use, and with the help of the grant from the Unemployment Board, it would be possible to emplov only 100 men at standard rates of pay, whereas the Works Committee was employing on an average 400 men on relief. On the Auckland system, 100 men would be employed five days a week and the others would go on sustenance. Mr W. W. Scarff asked whether men would work even if the Government put in hand major public works. Since the sustenance and relief pay had been raised a man would be doing four days’ work for only 3s a week. Mr. Beanland said that under those conditions every man that could work wculd have to do so or go on sustenance. Mr Leadley said that the principle on which sustenance was operated was that only if a man was disabled or unfit, or if the local bodies were unable to employ him, was he entitled to go on sustenance. Mr M. Ross (certifying officer to the Unemployment Board) pointed out that men over 50 years of age could elect to go on sustenance. Mr Beanland said the position in Auckland was not as good as here where a man with five or six in a family got four days* work at 14s fid a day. In Auckland he might only get three days’ work at standard rates of pay. Mr Leadley moved that the letter should be received and the Auckland Citv Council thanked for the information. This motion was carried. Christchu—H Committee Meets. When the Christchurch T'nemployrrent Committee met this morning- Mr at. Ross fcertifying officer to the Unemployment Board) stated that the total number of applications under t?ie N'o. 12 building scheme to date was 577. TJV*_ *"»roximate eost of the work was £40«».*73 4k ,3d. The number of applications approved was 537 and 24 were declined. The approximate cost of the work approved was £360,440 10s 9d and the subsidy amounted to £27,451. Depot Deport. Mr G. Harper, chairman of the Metropolitan Relief Depot, reported that for the week ended June 14 there were 122 registrations. The total of applications granted to date was 1828, and the total registrations 2238. For the week ended June 22 the total registrations were 157. The total number of applications to date was 1950 and the registrations totalled 2359. A letter was received from the Minister of Public Works (the Hon J. Bitchener), in which it was stated that, in addition to development works at present being carried out, including the erection of several large and small buildings under contracts let by the Public W orks Department, plans were being prepared as quickly as possible for further large and small public buildings in order to meet requirements and provide employment for artisans. There were present at the meeting Messrs E. H. Andrews (chairman), J. W. Beanland, W. W. Scarff, G. Maginne*s, G. Harper, W. J. Walter. J. W. Crampton. J. S. Barnett. A. PevereU, G. W. Leadley and M. Ross (certifying officer).