MANPOWER COMMITTEE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 71, 8 May 1945, Page 5

MANPOWER COMMITTEE

SITTING AT WHAKATANE ALL DECISIONS RESERVED A sitting of the Industrial Manpower Appeal Committee consisting of Messrs 11. Chairman, K. M. Simpson, N. Crimp and I. F. Kronfeld Secretary ? took place on Monday afternoon when three eases concerning appeals against direction were heard. All the decisions were reserved'. At the opening of the hearing, the District Manpower Oil'icer, Mr McGlone, stated that the three cases all concerned men who had recently been convictcd of bookmaking. The Department had issued direction for them to take essential employment under the understanding that any person . employed in bookmaking could not be said to be gainfully employed. It was thought that ii a man had time to gh~e to bookmaking, then he. had time to take up some essential employment. In the case of Timothy John Hickev a hairdresser of Opotiki } appellant had been directed as a Public Works labourer at Ivarapiro (hydro electric scheme). An appeal was entered on the grounds ol undue hardship, appellant outlining the extent of his business which included a hairdresser's tobacconists and sports goods depot, lie had served in the army and been invalided home from the islands, finally being demobolised to take up business again in August, 194.3. The only labour he had in the shop was a disabled returned an apprentice and himself. He had .succeeded in getting a returned soldier from Gisborne but this man had been forced to enter hospital before starting and he had heard nothing from him since. I here were two other hairdressers in Opotiki, and between the three ol them they had to serve the whole district. He himself worked 50 to G0 ( hours a

week. Charles Horace Clarke (Mr Bunkall) of Opotiki entered an appeal against his direction to the State Forest .service as a lores-try workei, on the grounds of medical unfitness. He was a married man with no family and had not worked for approximately six years owing to ill-health. When the call came he was sent to camp but a short time later was discharged as being medically unfit. He could do no heavy work at all. A doctor's certificate was produced. Joseph Plamus of appealed against his direction as a labourer lor the Public Works at Karapiro (Hydro Electric Scheme) on the grounds of his being medically

unfit. In evidence, Plamus produced a medical certificate stating that he was lit. for light work only. He had he said, previously accepted diJ. rection. The Manpower Officer verified that this was correct and that dur-s ing the period when he was working on the farm to which lie was directed he had worked very well. Mr McGlone went on to explain that appellant had been released in order to return to liairdres,smg, His buhiness however, had since changed hands and a new direction had been given in view of the fact that complaints were continually being received to the efleet that Plamus was a lit man not employed to advantage. As previously all three deScisions were reserved.