No Scroungers

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 186, 24 August 1937, Page 9

No Scroungers

-Press Association.)

SUSTENANCE PAY Refusal to Accept Work Will Disqualify MINISTER'S WARN1NG

(By Telegrapli-

i WELLINGTON, Last NighL "It is the firm intention of tho Government to obtain the best possiblo results from tho substantial expenditure on xelief work and other beneflts for the unemployed,1" said the actingMinister of Labour (Hon. P. C. Webb) in a statement to-night. "This is as essential to the welfaxe of "the recipients themselves aa it is to the eontributors to the Employment Promotion Fund. There have been complaints recently from dilferent parts of .the Dominion that diffieulty was being experienced in inducing recipients of relief to accept available farm work and jother occupations in country districts. H have gone carefully into the position ! ;and have no hesitation in saying that 'the Government cannot and will not [ continue the payment of relief to any- j :one who without valid reason has xe- ] jfused an offer of snch work or has made lany misrepresentations to obtain relief ior evade employment. "It is to be regretted that misrepre-^ sentations so far this year have been fairly numerous, showing a rising tendency each month nntil at the end of .June last the total was 1547 cases, inivolving £7955. That cannot be allowed I !to go on in any cirenmstances. "It is beyond question that the |Government has done its part in makjing the conditions incomparably better Ifor xelief workers and unemployed generally than they were at any time during the depression. Improvements have been numerous over a wide field of distribution. Apart from the initial lChristmas bonus and holiday payments jrelief rates have been increased on Ithree dilferent occasions: First in 'March 1936, when all districts were ,placed on an equal footing with the •four main centres, this involving an additional expenditure of . £175,000; secondly, from June 1, 1936, further in- ■ creases for all sections of relief workers involved £590,000; thirdly, from November 1936, sustenance xates were again increased by 6s a week for married men and 3s for single men. "As regards relief rates, the weekly increases for men in country districts on Scheme 5 were 62 per cent. and 6S per cent. for sustenance xespeetively. For men in secondary towns the increases wero 49 per cent. and 52 per cent., and for men in the main centres 36 per cent. and 38 per cent. Maoris from March 2^ 1936, were placed on the same footing as pakehas, .the average increase for Native relief workers being 21s 9d a week, a rise of 79 per cent.

"In connection with Scheme No. 5 the irates of pay as from June 1, 1936, were ibrought into line with its Public Works [rates of 16s a day for both married and isingle men, Maori and pakeha. Later Jthese rates were increased to 18s. These are but a few of the improvements, but •they show the extent to whieh the 'Government has gone in improving .the ilot of men who through np d?ault of [their owh have not been able to obtain, iwork in norma! occupations. " Such rates were' not fixed for any imen who are not willing to accept available employment. I desire to make it clear," the Minister said, "that it is not intended that any mCn through acceptance of farming work should be penalised through being deprived of more remuneratiye or more attraetive work which they would have enjoyed had 'they not accepted country work. Special ^rovision is to be made to meet such jcases so that when any Government work is jnaugurated for the xelief of 'unemployment those. eligible. men who have accepted farming work in the meantime will. have the -right of making application- for Government work. .Their names together with those of the xemaining.fit men will be put ,into a ballot box. and. a . draw made. (This .deiqocratic method of. selection jwill giv.e all an . equal -. opportunity of lobtaining any advantages available." The Minister- added that he hoped all recipients of relief -would appreciate the fact that his statement represented tho serious intention of the Government;

tliat m future -any man who without good and suffieient reason refused ahy work which ih the opinion *of the Labour Department was considerCd to be reasonable and for which the man was suited could not expect the sympathetic consideration of his subsequent request for a continuation or reinstatement of relief beneflts. vi . xi*>.