UNEMPLOYMENT

Wairarapa Daily Times, 19 June 1931, Page 3

UNEMPLOYMENT

MASTERTON COUNTY COUNCIL. FINDS WORK FOR FORTY MEN. Provision for forty unemployed daily during the suspension of the No. 5 Scheme was decided upon by the Masterton County Council at .a special meeting held yesterday afternoon to consider the position. The Council made available a sum up to £6OO to meet expenditure during that period, and decided to ask the Government to refund the money so expended. The chairman (Cr. Armstrong) said there were 315 men in Masterton on the unemployed list. The county surrounded a borough of about 10,000 inhabitants, and it looked to the county to do something to assist in the matter. Apart from that, however, it was their duty to do something. He moved that the county continue to engage unemployed during the period of suspension until Parliament met, a sum up to £3OO to be expended out of the general account,' to be subsidised from the heavy traffic fees up to the same amount, the work to start on Monday. This would keep the men going only until Parliament met, in about ten days’ time. Cr. Armstrong mentioned that representations had been made to the Hon. E. A. Ransom, who visited the Wairarapa on Wednesday, that the Government recompense local bodies for any expenditure during the period of suspension until a decision was reached. The Minister was placing the matter before Cabinet that day. Cr. Lee seconded the motion, staf.rg that it was plainly their duty to see that the men got work of some kind. In reply to a question, the chairman said there were ISO married men unemployed in Masterton. Crs. J. W. Colqulioun and H. H. Mawley supported the proposal. Mr J. C. D. Mackley, County clerk,’ stated that the amounts allowed in the estimates for the current.year for expenditure on unemployment relief works were:—Opaki Riding, £2OO, of which £46 8s 8d had been expended to date, leaving a'balance of £153 11s 4d; Rangitumau Riding, £200; Upper Taueru Riding, £200; Tc Wliiti Riding, £IOO, less expended to date, £S2 10s, leaving a balance of £l7 10s; Uriti Riding, £IOO, less expended to date, £1 os, leaving a balance of £9B 15s; Wainuioru Riding, £2OO. That made the actual cash available for expenditure in ridings, ££S69 16s 4d. The position of the heavy traffic fees account after making provision for the authorised expenditure and commitments to June 16th was £847 11s, 5d available for expenditure, which gave a total of £1717 7s 9d. Mr Mackley stated that the county had expended to June 13th upon unemployed labour under the No. 5 scheme a sum of £676 12s 9d, of which it had received every penny back from the Unemployment Board. The estimated expenditure from June 15th to June 20th was £llO, so that actually the total would be £786. The expenditure from the County fund account in supervision and cartage to June 13th and on wages during the previous suspension of the scheme was £260 7s od. Cr. Moore said there was no doubt the council would have to do something. In his opinion the unemployment question was only just beginning, and he considered it was going to get more serious before it improved. The idea had occurred to him as to whether the council could not alter its policy and spend as much as it could on labour and eliminate expenditure on material as far as possible; The council, he considered, should go into that side of the question. The motion, on being put to the meeting, was carried unanimously. On the motion of the chairman, seconded by Cr. Falloon, it was decided to make application to the Government to recoup any expenditure during the suspension of the No. 5 scheme. The council decided, after some discussion, to continue to employ forty men per day on the present classification.