NO SATISFACTION

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 152, 30 June 1932, Page 7

NO SATISFACTION

UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD RELIEF FOR ABLE-BODIED WILL MR. FORBES INTERVENE? HOSPITAL BOARDS' DECISION [ Per Press Association ] AUCKLAND, June 29. A crisis has developed in connection with tho issue of rations by hospital boards and action has been taken to bring the dispute with the Unemployment Board to a head by discontinuing as from tomorrow the practice of assisting any employable workless men. So grave is the view taken of the situation by the president of the Hospital Boards’ Association of New Zealand, Mr. W. Wallace, of Auckland, that intervention by the Prime Minister to induce the Unemployment Boar<? to accept its responsibility is sug gested. Following his visit to Wellington last week, Mr. Wallace, as president of the association, authorised a circular in the following terms to bo forwarded to every hospital board in New Zealand and also to the Unemployment Board: “Every effort has been made to obtain a definite answer from th< Unemployment Board to the resolutions of our conference but without success. The position in this respect is quite unsatisfactory and it is essential that in order to bring the mat? ter to issue hospital boards should definitely abandon giving assistance after June 30 to any employable men, married or single, who are fit for anja class of work whatever. The Minister of Health has been acquainted with 1 this decision and he concurs in the view that fit men are definitely the responsibility of the Unemployment, Board and not of the hospital boards,” Hospital Board Budgets. Commenting this morning on th* decision, Mr. Wallace said that at the beginning of the current financial year the boards were instructed by ‘he Health Department to provide for unemployment relief for the first three months of the year. “That term expires tomorrow,” said Mr. Wallace. “The boards budgeted in accordance with that instruction and consequently no funds have been provided for any unemployment relief after to-morrow. The attitude of the Unemployment Board towards any overtures made by the hospital boards has been entirely unsatisfactory and no definite statement has been forthcoming On ths occasion of my last visit to Wellington I conferred with the •Minister of Health and his departmental officers and on Friday the Minister instruct® the secretary of his department to if a definite statement could be oM tained from it. An interview tooiT place but no statement was forthcoming.” Mr. Wallace emphasised that in consequence of the attitude of the Unemployment Board, the hospital boards were forced into the position of bringing the whole matter to an issue, since they had not provided funds for tho

giving of assistance of any kind after to-moro'v Tin only aid that could be given by bo hospital boards ic future would be for ordinary cases of “charitable aid” and men in the C class, namely men who under normal conditions could not earn their own living. What Will Happen? “That remains to be seen,” said Mr Wallace when asked what would happen after to-morrow in the absence of any advice from the Unemployment Boards as to what action it intended to take. “We have,” he added, “offered the Unemployment Board the assistance of our expert officers in dealing with the problem, and the benefit of our organisation, but there has been no response. As president of the a** stociation I am prepared to do anything to assist, but this matter simply must be brought to a head so that the hospital boards will know just where they stand. The problem is one of such grave concern that the Prime Minister would be warranted in intervening. ’ ’

CHRISTCHURCH OPINION BOARD’S STRANGE ATTITUDE ( Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, June 29. “If any hospital board administered relief in the same way as the Unemployment Board is doing it would be bankrupt in a few months. The Unemployment Board seems to have undertaken the work without consulting any hospital board for its advice, although the hospital boards have had years of such experience,” said the secretary of the North Canterbury Hospital Mr W. S. Wharton, when asked foe attitude of the board on the rationiM question. Mr Wharton said that during the conference of hospital boards in Wellington recently an endeavour was made to get the chairman of the Unemployment Board to give a definite statement as to tho intentions concerning tho issue of rations to employable men, but up to the present no such statement had been forthcoming. It was hoped that, as a result of the attitude being taken up by the Auckland Board and other boards, the Unemployment Board would be forced into the open and made to declare what exactly it intended to do COMPLETE RELIEF RATIONS AT WELLINGTON. [ Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, June 29. “We have already practically dis continued granting relief to able-bodiec workloss mon,’’ said Mr. F. Castle, chairman of the Wellington Hospital Board, when interviewed this evening. ”Briefly, ” he said, “the position here is that where the Government has completed its machinery for providing complete relief we have stopp’d issuing rations. It has not quite completed arragements at Lower Hutt, but so far as we are concerned the issuing of rations will cense to-morrow. A point of difference has arisen rs to when a man is fit. We are in touch with the board regarding the class known as B2 men and borderline cases. We consider the board should accept responsibility. The question has not quite been settled ”