“REGISTER NOW.”

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18164, 31 October 1930, Page 7

“REGISTER NOW.”

UNEMPLOYMENT SCHEME. WHAT THE ACT REQUIRES. ?.'v REPLIES TO POINTS RAISED. (Times Correspondent.) WELLINGTON,' Thursday. The first step in the practical operation of the Government’s unemployment scheme, requiring, every male resident of the Dominion over the age of twenty years to ; register before November 11, has caused, many people who had previously' given little thought to the effect of the Act to realise the obligations it imposes on them, and numerous inquiries are being made of the officials and by newspaper correspondence on points which careful perusal of the Act and of the discussion in Parliament would have rendered unnecessary. T|ie responsibility to register allows no exemptions among to whom it applies., Evev'y male New Zealander of the age of twenty years and upwards is obliged to.'register by filling in tile registration-'form —obtainable at any post office—and returning it to any post office before' November 11. In some cases large employers are facilitating the procedure by arrdnging for the registration of their .employees en/bloc. After registration is -affected, every person liable to pay the unemployment levy of 30s per annum will receive a booklet of receipt coupons, each coupon being pi a different colour. When payment is made the receipt book will be stamped and a duplicate coupon torn out and retained by 1 the Postal Department. The Act enables the levy to be paid -in quarterly instalments or in a lump annual sum, and to facilitate that method each coupon is for a particular quarter of the year. The possession of the co.upqn- booklet will probably prove valuable to many people after the scheme is m proper working order, for as it -will, afford immediate evidence whether the holder is up to date in bis- payments, the ability to produce that.-evidence may mean to him the difference between securing a job or befog- refused employment. The first instalment of levy will he due on December l,f. ■ Payments Out-of the Fund. A number of points bearing on the administration of .the scheme are raised by a correspondent. inv a lengthy letter to the editor of. a Wellington daily newspaper. He assumes tfiat about 5000 persons' will become • entitled to sustenance allowance automatically with the of- theAct, and arrives at a . rough of the amount that would, hive, to be paid out of the unemployment fund for'sustenance purposes in the first quarter. What is to become of the balance of the money in the fund, he asks? He goes on to refer to the cost of administering labour exchanges throughout the Dominion. / The underlying principle of the Act is to provide for the employment of persons who are’out of employment, and to pay them sustenance if there is no other means of affording them assistance. The correspondent’s arguments appear to have been based on the supposition that -5000 of the 6000 persons at present registered as unemployed will become entitled to sustenance. The Act makes it clear that no person is to receive sustenance allowance except on the special recommendation of the Unemployment Board. Besides making arrangements with employers or prospective employers for the placing of men who are out of work, the Board is empowered to 'take such steps as it considers necessary to promote the growth of primary and secondary industries. It will be a matter for .the Board—when it is set up:—to decide how this shall he done. In order, to keep doiwn administrative expenses, the services of existing staffs of the Labour Department and other government officers will be the Board will arrange for the formation of voluntary committees in the different parts of the Dominion to assist it in administering the Act. Weekly Payments Not Favoured. It is being suggested in.some quarters that the payment of 7s 6d per quarter will cause hardship to many people who are in poor circumstances and that to make the contribution as little felt as possible It should be divided into , weekly payments, , which would amount to Id or 8d each. Further, it is argued that if the full weekly wage were taken into the needy home, the tendency would be for the whole of it to be spent, and the idea is therefore advanced of requiring the employer to make a weekly deduction and pay the full amount, due as the quarterly instalments become payable. The UnemploymentCommission considered this means of collecting the levy, but rejected it. The Commissioners pointed out that under the insurance schemes of other countries investigated by them the general' practice was to deduct workers’ contributions weekly. It was found, however, that there were objections to that method, the,-principal one being the amount of work involved in the case of employers, such as companies with a large pay-roll. The Commission therefore arrived, at the recommendation .for ' the payment of the levy annually, half-yearly, or quarterly, at the option of the taxpayer, hut it suggested that in the case of workers in employment, deductions should he made by the employer from the wages paid once in each month. Amongst the most persistent inquiries as to how the obligation to register affects them are those in receipt of pension. The requirement of the law that all males of the age twenty years and over must register should be taken literally, and embraces all persons in that category, whether they arc clearly exempted from the payment of levy or not. The exemption of old-age pensioners and others will be considered by the Board in tile light of the circumstances presented by each individual applicant.