WORKLESS BOYS

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21418, 9 March 1935, Page 20

WORKLESS BOYS

COMMITTEE'S WORK FOR 1934 REVIEWED IMPROVED POSITION Success beyond that of any previous year, in the number of boys assisted and in the type of work offering, and also in the evidences of public and official sympathy, has marked the work of the Boys' Employment Bureau of the Christchurch Boys' Employment Committee during 1934, according to the annual report presented by the secretary, Mr G. M. Keys, to members yesterday. Registrations for the year numbered 1038, excluding approximately 700 carried over from the previous year, as contrasted with 1674 for 1933. Placements were as follows, the figures for those in permanent employment preceding the figures for those placed in temporary work:—Farming, 238, 68; commercial, 199, 139; industrial, 241, 145; miscellaneous, 49, 575. Total, 1644. In addition 178 boys had secured jobs on their own initiative. Comment on and explanation of these figures was made as follows: The number of boys going into country positions has remained almost exactly the same although the percentage of permanent placements is lower. There is a definite increase in the number and percentage of boys entering commercial life (office, shop and warehouse). and as indicated previously, the type of position offering shows, on the whole, a definite improvement. The numbers and percentages of boys entering industrial life (trade and factory) shows an even more noticeable increase. . The miscellaneous group includes casual light gardening, carrying, messages, and parcels, etc., and, as the figures indicate, such work is mainly of a temporary nature. The large number of temporary jobs offering seems to indicate an increasing demand for juvenile labour, together with an attitude of caution on the part of the employers. There is evidence that a number of the positions have become permanent. The solution of the bureau's problems have been greatly assisted by the noticeable increase in the number of appointments in the Post and Telegraph Department, Railway Department, and the teaching profession. Some Employers Criticised "We are still faced with the difficulty af a small group of employers who will not play the game by the boys sent to them," continued the report. "There are several firms who seem invariably to dispense with their juniors about their third year of service, because of the increase of wages required by the Shops and Offices Act. Such employers select good boys to start with, and give no indication then of their intention to discharge them later. The working of extensive overtime, without compensation, an endeavour to lower wage levels, and in a few instances the use of boys with special ability to do work previously in the hands of older men, are other difficulties that have been encountered during the year. "I have been criticised for having made public on previous occasions such facts as these, but I am still firmly of the opinion that the weight of general public opinion and the big majority of employers is so much against this kind of thing that only good can result from being frank about it. "It should be mentioned also that the officials at the Department of Labour have proved quite sympathetic towards our efforts, but are compelled, of course, to enforce the provisions of the various awards under their jurisdiction." The position at the end of 1934 was as follows: —On the active list, 708; in temporary employment, 245; doubtful, 154. Total, 1107. Statistics showed that of the 1038 boys registered during the year, 19 per cent, were under 15 years o£ age, 20 per cent. 15 to 16, 21 per cent. 16 to 17, 19 per cent. 17 to 18. and 21 per cent, over 18. Subsidies The fund privately subscribed for subsidising boys in employment had been very low throughout the year, and only four boys had been assisted. The report emphasised the value this fund had been in previous years, and appealed for donations. Under the Unemployment Board's No. 7 (country) scheme, 52 boys had been assisted, a subsidy of 2s 6d a week being paid in each case. Conditions attached to the payment included reasonable training and living conditions, and a period of 12 months' service. "In a great many cases," the report stated, "farmers are now offering better wages. Only one complaint was received from the boys about living conditions. It is worthy of note that more farmers are seeking the assistance of the bureau in order to obtain labour for their farms. During the year a reel uest was received from the Chatham Islands and we were able to accede to it. The farmer pzid the boy's boat fare on condition that he stayed at least one year." The system of obtaining "follow up reports of those boys placed in employment had been better organised. Its main purpose was to ensure that the boy, his employer and his parents were satisfied, and the information had proved of use in the .planning of future work by the bureau. Less than 4 per cent, of boys selected for town positions had lost their positions through proving unsatisfactory to their employer, through laziness or dishonesty. In the country 238 boys had been placed in permanent employment, and 58 in temporary positions. This number would have been greater, but because of the shortage of boys offering for country work, 30 or more farmers could not be supplied. "It is interesting to note that m nearly every case boys from our training farm have given every satisfaction to their new employers, and are still holding their jobs. No one was sent out at a wage smaller than 10s. Of the permanent placements, 186 boys have remained in their positions (as far as we have been able to ascertain). Of the remainder, six boys had to be dismissed through dishonesty or some similar trouble, 18 have returned to the city, being dissatisfied, or through securing positions, and the remainder have gone to other farmers at a higher wage as teamsters, etc., or have left without stating what they intended doing." Publicity Homes of those with whom contact had been lost, and of those whose circumstances seemed urgent, were visited by a member of the staff of the bureau. Boys in Standard VI. in 29 schools had also been visited and addressed on "Plans For 1935." The booklet "What About Next Year?" was issued in a revised form, and 1500 copies distributed. The report concludes with expresand needing training should be allowed to attend the opportunity classes held by the girls' employment committee was favourably considered. Finance was discussed and a resolution was passed that as the initial grant from the Unemployment Board was almost exhausted, a further request be made for funds to carry on the work of assisting unemployed girls by training them and placing them in suitable employment. The committee's greatest problem, it was stated, was the status of the domestic worker, and the opinion was expressed that full investigation into the conditions of domestic service, and the wages paid to girls in this class of work, was an urgent necessity. Representatives of the women teachers' association and the National Council of Women indicated that those bodies also were much concerned over this matter.

sions of thanks to the staff of the bureau, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Unemployment Board, and Mr P. R. Climie, the Christchurch member of the board, the Mayor of Christchurch, Mr D. G. Sullivan, M.P., Mr A. E. Ansel, M.P., and Mr T. N. Gibbs and his staff. j Welfare Committee The report of the welfare committee, presented by Mr A. J. McEldowney, stated: — l "In some cases slackness has developed and a great deal of my time has been occupied in keeping contact with boys who have a tendency to drift into careless or dishonest ways. This work is exacting and intensely difficult, but is very often encouraging in its result. "A large measure of beneficial work takes the form of persuading boys to take part in some educational or physical activity. In the early part of the year, the attendance at these classes was disappointing, but towards the end boys realised that it was worth while joining some educational or physical group. Your committee recommends that the officers of the bureau continue to emphasise the wish of the committee that all unemployed boys should take part in some educational or physical activity. "The welfare committee wishes to emphasise again its opinion that until some such scheme as the twin apprenticeship scheme is brought into force, or at least until the recommendations of the Education Committee of 1933 are considered, there can be no adequate handling of the question of the unemployed boy. It is increasingly evident that there will be for some years to come, hundreds of boys who are out of work, and some national scheme is needed to prevent these boys drifting in lif: " The homes of all boys who had been registered for 18 months or more had been visited. It was found, from the 402 homes visited, that 226 boys had secured work on their own initiative. Fifteen had returned to school, 59 had secured temporary employment, and 54 were still unplaced. The whereabouts of 48 were not known. "Opportunities" Committee The work of the "opportunities" committee had been carried out tematically since July, according to the report presented by the chairman, Mr H. P. Donald. An extensive canvass of the city and the suburbs was carried out, 230 employers being visited, and many other interested persons interviewed. Approximately 200 boys had been placed by this means. One manager of a factory had stated that he was absolutely tired of employing boys because of the ways in which he was harassed by awards. He employed a number of boys on unskilled Work, paying them on an age basis, at a rate below award rates. They were content to stay, but he had been compelled to dismiss them because .he

could not afford to pay compulsory award rates. Their places had been filled by girls and younger boys. The proprietor of a milk bar and the proprietor of a tea rooms wished to employ lads for messages and other odd jobs, but were prevented from doing so because they had to pay them men's wages. It appeared that the award covering tea-rooms and milk bars was the same as that covering hotels. Training Farm The report of the boys' training farm, of 32 acres, established at Avondale, was presented by the chairman of the farm committee, Mr W. McAllister. Twenty boys had availed themselves of the facilities there, the report stated, and it had been amply demonstrated that once a boy had learnt to milk he had no difficulty in obtaining employment on a farm. The committee felt that the establishment of the farm had been justified, but expressed regret that older boys, from 17 to 20 years of age, had not taken advantage of it. The chairman remarked that the younger boys were iK'obably. however, the more enthusiastic. "The training farm has now been in operation for 10 months," the report stated. "Our main activity has been dairying, as the land is most suitable for this class of farming, and affords the boys the opportunity of learning to milk, which is one of the first essentials for securing a job on a farm. The cows have done well, and with the exception of three months in the summer, no difficulty has been experienced in selling the milk. Ample hay and mangels for the coming winter have been grown on the farm, and generally the dairying branch is giving no cause for anxiety." A training course lasting two weeks had been held at Lincoln College, with the co-operation of Professor R. E. Alexander and his staff. ANNUAL MEETING OF COMMITTEE REPORTS PRESENTED The annual meeting of the Christchurch Boys' Employment Committee was held in the Chamber of Commerce Library yesterday afternoon, Mr M. E. Lyons presiding. The reports of the Boys' Employment I Bureau, the "opportunities" committee, the farm committee, the welfare committee, and the education sub-com-mittee were read and adopted. Mr Lyor.s, in moving the adoption of the bureau's report, referred to it as a solid record of achievement. No charge could be laid against the committee that its activities had resulted *

in any adult worker being turned out of employment. The chairman offered his congratulations to the honorary secretary, Mr G. M. Keys, and to his staff. He hoped that members of the committee would continue 'to work as enthusiastically and as sympathetically as they had done in the last year, and demonstrate to the young that there were some who were thoughtful of their welfare in what was, in a way, a time of adversity for youth. In seconding the adoption of the report, Mr A. C. Maxwell (headmaster of Phillipstown School) expressed his appreciation of the work done by the executive committee in finding work for the boys. He instanced one case in which he had been particularly interested, that of a boy of 16 years of age who had left school, the direction of whose future was doubtful. He had approached the bureau, and within 24 hours the boy had been placed in a good position. It was hard to estimate the amount of good which had been done, even in this one case. In the discussion on the report of the farm committee, Mr W. McAllister said that every boy who registered at th: bureau was informed of its existence. The Rev. R. de Lambert suggested that remuneration to the boys should be at the rate of 10s a week, instead of their present total of 7s 6d. It was remarked by members that if the boys x-eally wished to go into the country they valued the training more than the wages, and that they qualified themselves for a much better position. Dr. D. E. Hansen expressed appreciation of the facilities offered by the farm for boys of the Technical College to go there to learn to milk. In reply to a question, Mr McAllister stated that the average stay of a boy at the farm was two months. The balance-sheet showed the following credit balances at December 31, 1934:—Farm training fund, £54 19s Id; subsidy fund, £ll Is; bank, £67 17s; administration fund, £1 16s lid. The last fund has since been augmented by £SO from the Unemployment Fund. Election of Officers I Mr M. E. Lyons was unanimously re-elected chairman, and Mr G. M. Keys honorary secretary. Mr H. P. 1 Donald was elected honorary treasurer. Chairmen were appointed as follows: "Opportunities" committee, Mr H. P. Donald; farm committee, Mr W. McAllister; welfare and education committee, Mr A. J. McEldowney. Mr McEldowney expressed especial thanks to those members of the bureau appointed by the Unemployment Board. It was resolved to send a letter to them conveying the board's appreciation of their services. Votes of thanks were passed to the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce, the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr T. N. Gibbs and his office staff, the newspapers, and the Unem--1 ployment Board. ' The meeting ended with a vote of j thanks, carried by acclamation, to the 1 honorary secretary, Mr G. M. Keys.