BUILD! REMODEL! REPAIR!

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 595, 28 July 1933, Page 2

BUILD! REMODEL! REPAIR!

IWhy NotfBuUd Now ? | CONSTRUCTION COSTS WILL NEVER BE LOWER GOVERNMENT SUJ3SIDY AVAILARLE | PUT MONEY IN CIRCULATION j With the encouraging evidence now before us of increasing jj optimism in financial, commercial and andustrial circles, it may | • surely be taken as an opportune time to consider the delayed construction of essential buildings. There is a better opportunity j now than ever existed before to build shops, factories and homes. I Many thrifty persbns who have put aside a sum for home build- | ing or the' extension of business premises will find that excep- | tional offers of assistance are being made. The subsidy payable | under the No. 10 Scheme adopted by the Unemployment Board j is most generous and those who are in a position to do so should not hesitate to grasp the advantage. Never again will building g costs be so low and it is unlikely that the subsidy from the* XJii- | employment Fund will be available for long. The object of the | subsidy is to stimulate the employment of skilled labour and | those who undertake construction work without delay, will not g | only reap benefit themselves but will also help materially to re- | | store prosperity to the community. | | The unemployment officer in Rotorua is prepared to deal | | promptly with all applications for assistance and at this stage it i | may be advisable to refresh the public mind as to the conditions | | which have to be f ulfilled. They are as f ollows : — I

ig 1. No specific restriction will now B be made as to the class of new buildg ings, alterations, additions to, or re9 novations of buildings, upon which a B subsidy may be supplied for; but all 9 applications will be individually considered by the Unemployment Board. Applications must be accompanied by g a statement of the class of work to | be undertaken and of the reasons (if ) any) which would prevent the work I proposed from being proceeded with | this year without the assistance of a subsidy. | The decision of the Unemployment | Board as to approval or otherwise in | every case must be accepted as final, | and it will be a condition of approval, in every case, that New Zealand materials shall be used wherever pracIticable. Up to 50 Per Cent Subsidy 2. On approved works a wages subsidy will be paid from the Unemployment Fund at the rate of 33 1-3 per cent. up to award rates on the total wages paid in respect of the labour actually performed on the premises, except that in the case of the erection of new dwelling houses not exceeding £650 total building cost, the wages subsidy will be at the rate of 50 per cent. on wages up to award rates on the total wages paid in respect of all labour actually performed on the premises. No subsidy will be payable in reIspect of wages for work performed away from the premises, notwithstanding that such work may be part of the approved job, and whether or not carried out by the contractor for the approved job. If any question arises as to what shall constitute "labour actually performed on the premises" in respect of which subsidy is claimed, it shall be ref erred to the Unemployment Board, whose decision shall be final. In order to calculate the. amount of subsidy payable, a wages-book showing only wages paid for work actually performed on the premises must be kept, and a certificate as to its accuracy must be given by the builder concerned.

Position of Working Builder In the case of small jobs where the building contractor is himself I actually engaged doing the work, or where he is working with the men, it shall he in order for him to hook wages to himself for the actual time so worked, based on the rate for tradesmen operating in the current award for carpenters and joiners. The wages of subcontractors or men engaged in subcontracts may be entered in the wages-book on the job, but only in respect ,of time actually worked on the premises, and such wages must be certified to as being , correct by the builder in charge of i the work. j 3. Subsidy will not be payable if 1 the work is commenced prior to the 8 approval of the Unemployment Board | being notified to the owner, and ap9 proval of the subsidy will he cancellIed if the contract is not let and work actually commenced within three ealendar months of the date of notification of ap'proval, unless by arrangement with the Urifemployment Board in the case of large buildings where the time necessary for the preparation of plans and speeifications would exceed that period of time. If the work on an approved job is commenced in accordance with' the foregbing*, and the rules of the scheme are otherwise complied with, the subsidy will eontinue to be paid until the coriipletion of the job unless -otherwise specified' by the board. No subsidy; will, however, without reference to the, Commissioner of • Unemploy- . ment, be pai'd on wages which are in

excess by more than 5 per cent. of | the estimate given in the application. 1 No Restriction on Labour 4. No restriction will be imposed re- j garding the source from which labour ? may be recruited — that is to say, 1 wages for labour other than that engaged through a Government Labour { Bureau will be eligib'le for subsidy. | Employers, however, are .asked-to re- J cognise that, as a general rule, the | necessity for relief is greater in the I case of married men, and that they | will materially assist the Unemploy- | ment Board in dealing with this pro- \ blem, if they will, other things being equal, give preferemce to married i men. | 5. The subsidy basis will involve a i cost to the board greatly in excess of j that granted last year, and is based j on the principle of rationing the work on approved jobs to a limit of forty j hours per week, with a f urther condi- | tion that no overtime may be work- 1 ed. It may be that in particular 1 eases there will be strong economic | reasons why the hours of work should | not be rationed to a forty-hour week | basis, and on representation of such jj cases to the Unemployment Board an j adjustment on the basis of subsidy | may be arranged, except that in no | case will a subsidy he paid when the 1 weekly hours of work exceed forty- 1 four, other than in 'accordance with ! the next paragraph. I 6. The restrictive conditions in | paragraph 5, in so far as they relate | to weekly hours of work shall not ap- j ply to any work coming within the 1 scope of "country work" outlined in | clause 6 of the New Z'ealand Carpen-' | ters' and Joiners' Awards— Book of 1 Awards, Volume 32 — but the hours | worked must not exceed forty-eight i per weelc. | Award Rates of Pay | iT vC rz.T v I " 7. Nothing in these rules shall be 8 taken to interfere with, or alter in 1 'any way, the wages and conditions provided for in any award or agreement for the classes of workers concerned. {- . - 8.' Builders in any class of the trade ' operating this scheme are re-

quired to proteet their workers under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act. The Unemployment Board will not accept any responsibility in this connection. This rule applies also to local body authorities E and to Government- Departments | which may be operating under this scheme, whether they insure or not, and they must accept the responsibilities of the Workers' Compensation Act. ! - 9. A breach of any of the rules of the scheme will render the- payment of subsidy liable -to cancellation," and a refund of subsidy paid (if any) may be required. I Definition of Parties In the above rules — "Owner" means the owner or lessee of the premises on which the work is prbposed to be done— i.e. the person or firm payihg for the work— and the subsidy shall be' payable to no other person than the owher as hereiix defined : "Builder" means the person who undeoltakes to per-form the work for the owner and whd engages the labour necessary to carry out the work. - - - *• . ^ ^ ^ ■■•mrw- is " "Premises" means the land on which a building is to be erected, or on which stands a building to be added to, alteredj or renovated. ' Q -WA • — r.- \ The terms "owner" and "builder" will of course, be synonymous in cases 'whei'e the person at whose instigation 'the work is bei"ng done himself directly employs the labour.