UNEMPLOYMENT ACT

Hokitika Guardian, 23 January 1931, Page 2

UNEMPLOYMENT ACT

board criticised

MINISTER ’ S IMPORTANT STATEMENT'S.

SUSTENANCE PAID NEXT MONTH

WELLINGTON, January 21

Making tne enarge mat Hie Unemployment Board tlnough its rules is thwarting the expressed will oi Parliament, and that undue delay Inns taken place in operating the Unemployment Act, a deputation of Christchurch members and trade unionists held a long interview with the Minister *ot Labour, Hon. S. G. Smith, to-day. Many points arose in the discussion and the Minister’s reply, which are of national interest.

Mr E. J. Howard (Christchurch South) stated that an overflowing meeting of Christchurch trade unionists and other unemployed had appointed the deputation to discuss the Unemployment Act with tire- Minister. They were not satisfied with its ttdministration. They believed the will of Parliament was nut being given effect. Sustenance had not been paid, though the fountain of charity had dried up on account of legislation which was in-operative. “The meeting was not angry,’’ said Air Howard, “though ■ they, came there as hungry men, and after calm discussion came to the conclusion that Parliament’s will was. being ignored.” He honed that sustenance would start on Feb-

ruary 1. .The Minister; I hope it won’t, for 1 hope we will find work.

POSITION BECOMING WORSE

Mr George Thurston, a Trades Council delegate, stated that the position was becoming worse because employers continued to dismiss hands. Prior to the Act passing many voluntary organisations gave- help, but now they looked to the Unemployment Board. Canterbury’s unemployed with dependents totalled 5,545, all in distress. The Act gave control of a million sterling, but the hoard had not touched the fringe of the position. The regulations made it impossible to draw sustenance for five weeks, but the urgency of the case demanded that it be paid now. He could not find words adequately to picture the intolerable position. Mr H. Worrall (General Labourers’ Union) suid the-.deputation came in -iio carpifig spirit,- hut was impelled by tim gfeitt aiilbuiit of misery, in some ciases degradation, in the ranks of the Unemployed. The will of Parliament should he supreme, not subject to modification by any hoard. The Act was an insurance scheme with the worker’s obligation to pay a levy and the Government’s obligation to find him work or pay sustenance. The latter was to be paid within two weeks, hut the board had imposed a time limit of five weeks.

The Minister interposed to explain that if a worker was dismissed on a Saturday night he could apply for sustenance if no work was in prospect. Inquiries proceeded and at the end of a fortnight /sustenance was paid. The regulations were framed not to penalise but help the workers.

WOULD BE “SNOWED UNDER.”

Mr Wo mail replied that the average man would be unemployed fourteen days before applying, men anoUier fortnight wonki elapse. I lie Labour Department would be snowed under with inquiries, thereiore he would offer on behalf of Labour organisations to have these inquiries made now. Work was wanted, not and as thousands of acres of land handy to • Christchurch were covered with scrub and broom, men should be employed to clear it, and grow potatoes, no matter who owned this land.

The speaker proceeded to advocate concrete roading, when the Minister explained that a scheme discussed with the Highways Board was under consideration. He corrected Mr Thurston’s suggestion that locked-out workers are ineligible for sustenance,

Mr Worratl declared that 9000 bo3 r s annually left school looking for jobs, yet 2200 lads from Britain were brought into the country under various schemes. He referred to the moral aspect of unemployment. “You need not stress that to me,” said the Minister. “I come from the working class and regard the physical and moral results as most serious.”

Mr E. Snow (Tratnwaymen’s Union) stated that the unemployment figures would he higher but for work rationing and short time.

Dir M’Combs (Lyttelton) referred to the feeling of disappointment at the Llnemloyment Board’s failure to line! work.

Tiio Minister: There is a file of papers two feet high of written schemes for work, all prefaced bv the rtntewmt that they arc an absolute cure for unemployment.

DISAPPOINTMENT. Mr M’Combs commented tlia A possibly the board’s personnel was unsuitable for the purpose of devising employment schemes. If the legislation was wrong then Parliament should be called to amend it. because Parliament never intended that sustenance should he paid for only fifteen weeks in fiftytwo, or less than a shilling a day, ex-

eluding Sundays. This was totally inadequate and desperately ujsappuint-

The Minister: Tile whole discussion should have been taken before the Unemployment Board. Personally. I have no power to alter the regulations.

Air Howard : Members of Parliament should go to A 1 blisters. Air M’Combs: Wo are not going cap in hand to the board.

The Minister: It was set up by Parliament with power to make regulations. The difficulties you anticipate may never arise, and tile discussion of the viewpoint of the "board. What ii it finds work for the other part of the year ? All- Sullivan (Avon) disclaimed any lack of /sympathy with tile difficulties of the' hoard and the Minister, but ion.rusted it with the desperate condition of idle workers. Parliament novel intended th.it the sustenance period should be limited to five weeks on one application. It provided lor thirteen weeks. The workers wore not responsible for land speculation and the expenditure of twenty millions on motors, hut it was the working class which bore the brunt oi the dept\fusion. Air Armstrong (Christchurch East) declared lie would not criticise the board, because it had an almost impossible task; blit life was critical ol the (lOveimiiieiit, which dismissed men fatitrf thail they could lb nut bn. Paf'liaineiit thought that £’100,(01 was provided iii anticipation of levy revenue, but members iiow found this hud to be phict bitch. Mr O’Brien (Westland) referred to the Westland unemployment problem. He was pleased to hear the Minister say that- work would be provided rather than sustenance, because everyone in AVestland wanted work, nosustenance. His local committee had

throe little grants totalling £l7O for arranging work, but there were big p--l)lic works only awaiting money which Parliament had voted.

LACK OF PKRSPECTIVI

The Minister of Labour replied that the discussion wn« a reminder that in regard to the unemployment position there was lack of perspective. Local bodies reported their funds exhausted, but nobody gave a thought to the fact that there were no magicians on the Government benches who could conjure up money troin nowhere. The Gov eminent, like the local bodies, had financial difficulties. He denied that Parliament’s will had been thwarted, and declared that when the regulations came into operation the speakers would find many of the (lire consequences mentioned by them would never'happen. There were 490,000 persons registered under the Act, and approximately 4-30,000 would be liable to pay unemployment levy. The number registered unemployed was 12,000. There was a strong feeling among people not directly connected with the unemployment problem that sustenance -should tint i>o paid, and it Was the hoard’s first consideration to provide work rather than sustenance,

“AVe are ho MU g within six months’ time that despite the financial position cf the country we will have advanc-m to a definite stage and made work available for the 12,000 unemployed,” he said. “It is a stupendous task, but we hope to achieve it with the cooocration of local bodies and all sections of the people.”

There was also an impression, continued the Minister, that the passing of the Unemployment Act ended the obligations of local bodies in finding work for their own unemployed. He had reports on the files of local "bodies discussing works for the next financial year which they expected to undertake from unemployment funds and thus relieve their ratepayers, and some actually asked that local levy contributions should be paid to them.

UNDESERVED REFLECTIONS. “1 any sorry,” said tne Minister, “to hear any renections upon tne unemployment Board, it lias only ueen Mit.ng twenty-tour working uays.

„ur Howard; Where iis the result? The Minister; 'tne result lias been llie carrying out of No. 1 scheme, enabling £2o,oCd, plus £8,001), to be distributed through local bodies on a system which was some slight improvement on the Government’s lormer system. Scheme No. 2 is still in operation, making money available lor work throughout New Zealand, and it will be continued till January 3i. After that the board has under consideration what shall be done to tide die men over until permanent schemes c:*i be adopted.” He asked critics to realise that the board members worked voluntarily, only their expenses being paid. Its members made sacrifices. They sat all day, and on many occasions late into the night, and setting up an organisation for payment of sustenance allowances was more difficult than most people imagined. The hoard was anxious that there should be organisation throughout New Zealand, so that payments would be safeguarded and the sustenance officers bo entitled to discuss with local unemployment committees any cases where there " il! * doubt regarding the bona tides of applicants Nobody wished to see sustenance paid to men who did not "ant work. As for the suggested rush which might overwhelm sustenance officer' on February 1 causing delay, he replied that it would not happen. Steps had been taken to ensure a sufficient ctafl t<% assist these officers. The date fixed for commencing the operation of the sustenance rules was hebruan 1. There would be the inquiry period, and the first- payment of sustenance, if it was needed, would be made on February 21. and be one week's sustenance.

EXTENSIVE SCHEMES. “1 am hoping,” added the Minister, “that between now and January 3i the Government, plus the Unemployment Board, will bo aide to present schemes tor the provision of work for the unemployed. We are anxious to find work, and if we fail we will pay sustenance, but not before February 21. There is a committee 1 investigating works to be put in hand, which will absorb a large body of unemployed. Accommodation has to be provided and other arrangements have to be made to take a large body of unemployed out of the cities on relief works to tide over the next few months. Another section of the committee is going into the question of finding the money. Cabinet was called this morning, and, no doubt, is discussing the very quesrios* you are asking me to answer. ”