REHABILITATION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 13, 9 October 1945, Page 7

REHABILITATION

PRE-SERVICE EMPLOYMENT EX-SERVI CKMEN'S RESPONSIBILITY

"Iu their advice to ex.serviccmc.iij the officers of the Rehabilitation Department give them every encouragement to return to their pre-ser_ vice employers. always provided there is a v?orth-while job for them to return to " savs a statement is. sued by the Rehabilitation Department. "Men from overseas are contacted as soon as possible after their return while all ex-servicemen are acquainted of their rights mi tier the. Occupational Re-Establishment Regulations, by which their pre-i service positions are. guaranteed should they Avish to resume them. "They are, however, also advised that the regulations do not include an indefinite guarantee. On the other hand they fix certain welltlefinetl limits. The serviceman must apply for re-instatcment before the. expiration of one month after the termination in New Zealand of his military-service or before the end of six months after the termination overseas of such service, or during any period of leave without pay. "Experience to date lias shown very few cases where, difficulty is encountered. Thus of course may J 5 be largely due to the shortage of skilled labour; the return from .service of tra'TTicd personnel is generally welcomed by employers. Of the U:'. 000 who according to the last reestablishment figures had returned to civil life almost 20 000 had gone > j ® back to their pre-service employers.. This is a happy augury, since a large part of the. task of rehabilitation is in picking up the threads where they were left off. However an almost equal number have man-i aged to find employment for themwhile nearly 15,000 were placed as the result of departmental effort. It is. however, necessary for ex-servicemen to remember that tliey have a responsibility under the regulations governing their pre-ser-vice employment, and should they wish to resume it they should notify, their employers, with as, little delay as possible. It is also incumbent on employers oil their part to make sure that the ex-servicemen have every opportunity for training and improvement in the jobs to which thev return,"