FINDING WORK.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20108, 11 December 1930, Page 11

FINDING WORK.

UNEMPLOYMENT BOARD SCHEMES. OFFERS BY EMPLOYERS. Quite a number of applications from employers willing to provide work under the Unemployment Board's No. 2 scheme, providing for a & for & subsidy on wages paid up to 14s per day, have been received by the honorary secretary (Mr P. R. Climie) of the Finance Committee of the Citizens' Unemployment Committee. At Monday's special meeting of the committee it was decided to seek recognition from the Board -as a Local Committee under the Board's scheme. Mr Climie told a reporter yesterday that, having received no communication from the Board, he had telegraphed asking if such recognition had been granted, and also if the committee could start operations under the No. 2 scheme forthwith. No reply had been received up to late yesterday afternoon. Work Offering. The work offering under the No. 2 scheme includes hoeing tomatoes, woodcutting, spraying, potato-digging, gorse grubbing, and bush-clearing. Mr Climie considered that these classes of work ought to come within the scope of the scheme. He was also of opinion that an endeavour should be made to allow the employer, if he desires to do so, to j select the men he thinks most suitable for the work he wants done. ! Cr. Annie I. Fraer, who is in charge of the Central Relief Depot, also has received offers of suburban work under the No. 2 scheme and is anxious that the scheme should be put into operation as soon as possible. Work for Ex-Service Men. On Monday, in accordance with the conditions governing the Returned Soldiers' Association's vote of £IOO to tho City Council, 50 ex-Service men were taken on work under the Reserves Committee and will get a fortnight's work. Another 50 ex-Service men will be taken on for a similar period at the end of the fortnight. Heathcote County and Lyttelton. The Heathcote County Council has put on 30 men on work connected with the Bowenvale storm-water drainage scheme, and, in conjunction with the Lyttelton Borough Council, a similar number have been put on river protection works along the banks of the river Heathcote at Heathcote. These are designed to protect the Lyttelton borough's pumping station in connexion with the borough's water supply, and also a farm of about 200 acres belong-1 ing to the borough. - | RIVER TRUST WORKS. EXTRA £l5O VOTED! i Provided that the money is subsidised, an additional £l5O for relief work is to be provided by the Waimakariri River Trust. It is not expected that this will be spent before Christmas. The vote was made at yesterday's meeting of the Trust. Tho Engineer (Mr U. W. Harris) explained that as tho result of being granted by the Unemployment Board for the Christmas appeal work—. th« Trust ; contributing the other £M)O —thirty-four men had been put on on Tuesday morning. This-money would be exhausted by December 24th. The only work available was clearing, and on that £1520 bad already been qpent out of the £1650 provided for on the estimates. If more men were to be given work he would require special authority for it. To avoid having to establish camps arrangements had oeen | made to subsidise a bus in place of I employing a cook. The return fare from the works to the City would cost each man 9d, the distance each way being approximately ten miles. Mr R. O. Dixonlt is a shame that we have to pay the men 14s a day. Mr J. Leslie: I agree with yon. Mr Harris said that there was further clearing work which could quite Well be gone on with now. Mr A. Manhire said he thought they might do something more if the work was available and they could, set a subsidy of at least £1 for £1 from' the Unemployment Board. Mr Dixon; I think we should seriously consider reducing wages, so a* to employ more men. It was pointed out that t&e subsidy was available only if the standard rates of wages were paid. The Trust decided to vote £l5O, pro* vided a subsidy of at least £1 for £1 was forthcoming. EDUCATION BOARD'S GRANT. NO SUBSIDY FORTHCOMING. The Canterbury Education Board was one of the local bodies which offered to vote over £2OO to the relief of un» employment under the terms of the Christmas appeal, the money so voted to carry a£2 for SI subsidy. Howover, the money will not now be available, as the Education- Department has stated that there js no power to sub* sidise funds originally provided by the Government. Therefore the subsidy could not be approved. An official of the Canterbury Board stated yesterday that, apparently, the Unemployment Board was in error in including the Education Board in its proposals in the first place. He pointed out that subsidies would still be available on voluntary subscriptions made by Sohool Committees, and the Education Board would be pleased to forward claims for this, i The applications should be accompan- , ied bv an estimate of the number of i men it was proposed to employ, the i cost of labour, calculated, on a basis of 14s a day, and an estimate of the material required. The cost of the labour shoula be at least 50 per cent, of the cost of the work.

SUBSIDY EXHAUSTED. SECOND SCHEME RECEIVING ATTENTION. (PBESS ASSOCIATION TELEGBAM.) WELLINGTON, Decombor 10. The sum of £25,000 allocated by the Unemployment Board for subsidies to local bodies on the basis of £2 to £1 has been exhausted, according to an official statement made to-day. It is hoped that this sum, with amounts to be provided by local bodies, will result in work being found for 2100 men throughout thf Dominion between now and the end of next month. It is suggested that employment should be given in alternating periods where necessary, so that the men will be found at least a fortnight's work. The attention of the Board is now being turned to the second scheme under which it will subsidise wages np to %u a day oa a & lor & basis. The

concern at the moment is the formation of local committees, and the Board is particularly anxious that bodies ehoaW be formed as soon as possible, as it will be through them that the operation of this scheme will be carried out. A large number of enquiries have already been made for assistance, and it appears that the second £25,000 set aside by- Um Board for this measure of Christmas relief -trill be as eagerly sought as ni the first sum. * * % Liability for Ccetpensatioo. ' j Apprehension has been expressed it many quarters concerning the lja&iSlgr of for compensation in ease of accident to those men to whoa ': have given casual employment. 3$ jp» <- 't pears that if a casual employe is ia- - jured the employer,will bp., liable 1» , ji compensation. This Till not pnn * *«t- ; i pus consideration to many wfeo f«* insured against accidents to <f&r -«*- "• , *jl ployees, but it ia natural that any persons who give a man wwlf fwr: a „ day or two in the garden or ia floar casual employment will not bp JH* 1 * ' ". *jj teeted. The question was & s ™ to-day's meeting of the £f - 'V'gj is expected that a satisfactory wMJwvof the problem will lie ieac3t|M. t Local OmainfHaML "•M&ftl An appeal is made to «trie fa||jpi» >- Mm ties to take the initiative in fftij fiii"iiiii' tion of local committees. Ths Bqwnl emphasised that the avristajwo a&s operation of these vOtta 'f*; '■'■■USjjg sential to the working of tks ' miHwft TaJS scheme. The Board's snfcsiaj *3l 'yofc - ,'i exceed 7s per day in any one ease, k»fc iVji the actual wages to.be said t» \ - $ -workers under the scheme -will m a . E ;; thirty while it might be made, tlfere h&'no chnneo *%ml being given before Chrirtwaa/V,"