UNEMPLOYMENT.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20176, 3 March 1931, Page 9

UNEMPLOYMENT.

MEETING OF LOCAL COMMITTEE. NECESSITY FOR RATIONING WORK. Referring to the new registrations and renewed registrations of unemployed, Mr Leadley, speaking at yesterday's meeting of the Chtistchurch Unemployment Committee, said that they were an alarming feature of Jast week's operations. Although the Board had succeeded in giving work, under to 11,000 men, the new and renewed' applications were over 8000. This went to show that employers were finding it necessary to reduce staffs and were thus making the work of the Board very hard indeed. He wanted to say that ,if, employers of labour> on account of the economic position, instead o£ reducing staffs would consider a scheme of rationing, it would help tfae Board to a considerable It was a very hard thing, and was rather a tragedy, that men who had never before handled a pick and shovel—clerks and men who had served in shops and offices—were getting down to it. If it were possible, he asked local bodies to provide extra clerical work to absorb those who had been used to clerical work. Mr Belton said that the remedy, to a large extent, lay in their own hands. They should buy New Zealand goods instead of imported goods. Mr Hutchinson said he supported very earnestly the remark* made by Mr Leadley. There was a tremendops amount of rationing going on, and it was important that there should , be more. He also supported Mr Belton 9 remark. By buying New Zealand• goods, be said, the factories would be kept going and money would be circulated to the benefit of all classes. The Board hid got over the worst of its work and last week had time to ; turn its attention to the secondary industries. The real programme was an educational one, the object' of which wag to help people to realise that in their own Interests they, should buy; New Zealand goods.

I Question of Insurance. ! Mr Ecroyd reported that 40 men who had been allocated work under the 1 Hospital Board .wore not taken, on. yesi' terday as the Board declined to accept 1 liability in- respect of insuring them. 1 He moved: "That the Unemployment Board approaph the Government and awe them to take such steps as will make I local bodies immutfe from any xesponsiI bility in respect of insuring men emi ployed under the No. 5 Scheme. 1 Mr Harper seconded, and said that: the | Domains Board was putting off 150 I men because, the Board had not funds |to meet the insurance premiums." The men had done excellent work and the work appeared to be congenial. The Board, like other local authorities, >was coming to the end- of its financial year, and could not' Increase it# liabilities. To provide cover fir the Mien employed by 4 the Board would involve something like £3OO. Cr. Beanland said that at 30s per cent, it would have cost the Hospital Board only £2B—a very-small sum compared with the value of the .work done. The City Council -would be employing 800 odd' meO this week - and it would cost* £2OO j>t £BOO to" cover the men for .i&v#sekß ot two 'months/' ,R would bo a serious matter if the scheme broke down because the local authori- ■ tics . would not, takeout the).»ecessatty cover. He hoped the local bodies concerned'would try to .'raise the amount necessary toget over the difficulty till the end ot Match. £•'<&£..'. The chairman said ,that the arrangement made by the City Council wa* to pay 80s per £IOO .of "wages paid. Mr Scarff said that' the He&thcotc county •frasnotobjectirig to the peasant rate for.insurance,>but wis protesting, against a suggested increase in the rate. Mr Leadley said- that the Board, -waa! providing foada wherewith to employ 11,000 znen, and if it had to pay ! insurance also they would , see wlffefi; drain it would .bo on the He was astonished at Mr Harper's statement that it would post the Domains Board £BOO to cover the men it hsd been employing. iV,, Mr Harper said,that he was *ot>;cferr. tain about the *moi»t. , Although the Board was a rasng authority. Ha xatr ing powera were limited. ; Mr Ecroyd said thai his idea was that if there was, any profit in the insurance the Governing should get it. * The motion was agreed to, and it was decided <to recommend local authorities who had t'urned off zfien, or Were contemplating ' doing so, to postpone action until & .reply; had fceea received. Board's Scheme Criticised* The'clerk of the Ashley County Coun- | cil, in a letter, raised the question ;of, the inefficiency of the .schemes for ,the relief .of unemployment, and - allege# that they were not reproductive. ' j Mr Climie expressed the opinion that |he thought the writer had overlooked the fact that the Unemployment > Board had simply to do something)- and>that the schemes adopted were palliatives and never intended to. be The, investigation of profitable schemes, of a developmental! character, inCanterbury was being undertaken ,by ! the, Research Committee 'set up by the Pro : gresß League. . It was decided to forward the letter I to the Unemployment Board. 1 | The chairman said that the work" 1 being done by local bodies in* and around - Ghrietchurch, .while it „ could not be exiled reproductive, was, as £ar as he could judge, useful work. They, were not, as some alleged, "digging.a hole and filling it up again." Mr- Leadley said that the writer: of the letter had simply singled out the No. s'-Scheme, which was largely for, the benefit of cities and counties, and had Ignored Schemes 4A and 48, which were devised-.for developmental >.wt>rk. on farms. He would like people who. were thinking on similar lines to thfc writer of the letter to know .that thjßse were not the . Board's only schools.' The Board was at work on a scheme i providing for th£ development, clear- | ing and subdivision of Crown lands; I another dealt with the rehabilitatipn-of farms abandoned by soldier settlers; , and another with .the clearing" of vast areas coveted with 'ragwort, black' l ' berry, and-other noxious weeds. These were .all developmental works, and t it' was hardly fair to jump to the conclusion that the No. 5 Scheme was the "only ' one brought down by the fioard. The other schemes he had'mentioned would 1 assist in increasing the productivity 'of the country, both through primary and 1 secondary Industries,- and it wis be« | lieved that along those lines > lay the ! solution of the unemployment problem > Mr Climie said that he ' and Mr Bailey intended waiting on the Ashley County Council on Thursday, and they would explain matters on tho lines of Mr Leadley's remarks. ■ ' *, <„ K©._2' ; B«£emV v Tho Unemployment Board wrote '-grantinji' the committee's application ' for £350 under the' No- 3, Scheme/ ■ Th<h committee^.waa reminded .that the sterns SPX 9l 9*pi t a»d

could be made only in respect of commitments made up to Febru&ry 28th., , Thetjhairman •a*id*£h|t-\h<» cated on Saturday more than the sum* mentioned. * Mr Scarff reported that an, application under the No. 2 Scheme had been made 011 Saturday, for assistance to grub' three acres and a half on Cashmere hills. The area had been acquired for a -winter garden. It was decided to support the application, provided it was in order. gutnmit Rtfad Walking Track. Mr H. G. Ell attended, and reported regarding the construction of a walking track in continuation of the Summit road that he proposed only to construct the portion of the track through"'the. Summit Boad Trust's .reserves. Two married men had begged him to put them on the work, and he had done so; they were 1 registered unemployed. He could keep them going for a month or six weeks if he got help. ' Mr Leadley thought that if Mr EU applied direct to the Board, setting out particulars regarding the Summit Boad Trust, it would agree to give assistance, although the Trust was not a local body in the accepted meaning of the term. Mr Ell agreed to do so. Organising Work.

IMr Climie reported on the organising work done by Mr Bailey, Mr Scarff, and himself last week. 'Mr Scarff and he had waited on the Akaroa County Council last Saturday, but had left before the Council's decision was announced, but they understood that it was intended to set up a local Unemployment Committee. The local bodies interviewed were doing all they > possibly could to overcome the transport diffiexuty , cases in which the work was some distance from the residences of the u»-, employed. . , Mr Hutchinson said , that the organising work being done in Canterbury was very much appreciated. If they had the same spirit throughout ytlie Dominion the Board would not be' Having the trouble it was meeting in other parts of the Dominion. • -

Other Matters. • The Sumner Borough •Council advised that the Mayor (Mr W. H. NicholflOn), the Town Clerk (Mr 3: P. .Menzies), and the postmaster (Mt J. S. Martin) had* been appointed a local unemployment Committee- . 2 ' - An -application fot subsidy from MT A. J. Scott, secretary of the Tasman Memorial Hut rnnd, toward# th® «oß* of erecting the hut," was»referred *O- - Timam Committ6e, as the is outside the Christchnrch Commiftee a, district. , ' _ in., There were present:—Lrs. •». Drews (chairman) and J. w. Beanland,' Messrs Sc sT ff '.. 4?*' F. W. J. Bblton, ;%■ Eiorosdj George. IV J. Cleland (Waimairi JCdunfy), Foster, G. A, Hayden, N._H. Graham (Labour Department), and'P- B. Clmiie (hon. secretary)/ VT-* - _ * Messrs W. E. Leakey and T. L. Hqt-. chinson, members of the Unemployment Board, and X postmaster, Kaikoura. also, attended. - . ,

WORK IN CFTY. REPORTS TO COUNCIL. Beports on t£l work being dqn« in the City under the No. 5 Unemployment Belief Sftbetaa were aubmijfctqd at night's meeting oi the Co#M& b£ Abaft?**,, Msrty&>, ■xrifree *d4> -Works OokOWit^:'^, -and. ;se«js»,..,The„ number, night iaf *U*T' 'd^feiiit^ Binglp'. maHf 4t9, per dayt .'iff }'S the mfein w«lm ptawa '.ireand i 'tor cleaning tto S^3wS^pSffi' cleariagf WWM'WW? plantations lug the the.. P&rk;' (S) f cl«atiing: .ppMMif the variooa ting and tree-felUn# »t ly parc-based'/for ftJoy. Othor jWJjia ried ont jtre:—»(l) Cfow/fctU#tlfo. MfrM*; cil's reserve at Bmrtojj-'a wooa? (2)levclllfi£ wood' Pajfk between, "a ''^teU' < The Water Supply w4 mittee reported as Sp» awa:-T~t»Q.. A MtBR have boon employed under th6~co»t«M of 'tfio- WotJffl Unemployment BoardV !tyo. aa threo*day men, 175 It was originally aTradgoil ior > vOtt. man to be employed, foot that some- of Department "iy the IjabWT Dopartoeßt' have obtained other has not yet been- warfeingiftbafc entries are being "made up as quietly aa possible. -' i* v , "* - The principal works on' wlHck.w«i are engaged' are ievclling. G Wilson's road wa« iff; a very badecw* ditlofl. - J Cr. J. W. Beanland, #ii tiu»t bad not the tor- tha. v yfoXf this year. The -work- being* 4otis' by && an cm'pteyod needed vefy littlp water* ial. He agrtefl jW>»l:F»Jj in .a deplorable state, bht'tbe wjkgl* could not be ttftdjMftWrtrai until, *»$«?. Hatch 31flt, " ' ~ ,J ', -'" The reports wer& adopted.- *f y »j.WinHtip- Handing. [££ The Water ipittee reported:?--*. *.. J 1 .■?!»" jfi Jroviaion *a» tfe»* e«xent year's estimates JBwr .the conitynwfcion 1 a drain along Manchester 2£ooriionse'.aveiine to Dttndfti iriaeefc' pi order to reU«ve flooding .wMefc occurred-at 1 the ofstreet and Dnndas street following heavy rainai it is now proposed to do tta» wflrt with the unemployed, to iequcat«d to flhargS materials, etc., against _A,YiKjtp; p.acod on the ettunates'for dr«n»fe m Hills road, Sfc ' _ - Owing to the fact that certain .works must' "be carried'out by'thCr Board before the GodhcU'h m Hills road <souldbe V» Council will not be caUed qpo& W pay their of'the flnaneiAl year. t , > .• Authority i& also requPßtoa to utilise tVo balance of tho;e4oo #Ebiimcp: