RELIEF FOR UNEMPLOYED

Shannon News, 11 March 1927, Page 2

RELIEF FOR UNEMPLOYED

ANNOUNCED BY PREMIER. TWO THOUSAND MEN TO BE ABSORBED. , PUBLIC WORKS JOBS. # Two thousand unemployed are expected to be absorbed almost im- • mediately as the re:ult of an arrangement announced by Mr Coates, Prime Minister. The remuner- . ation will be based on co-operative' contract where possible, so calcu- , lated as to return to tiie average worker a sum equivalent to 12s per ' • day for a mf.-rricd man and 9s per day for a si:;?le man. Where cooperative contracts cannot be arranged, employment will be on an hourly basis ai the rates mentioned. In a statement; issued last flight, Mr Coates said it was realised that while the Government could not reasonably be expected to shoulder the whole responsibility of finding employment for those who were out of work, the interests of the country as well as the cictates of humanity rendered it necessary that at the present moment the utmost should be done that could be done. The Government are accordingly exploring every possible avenue of increasing the amount of employment available, both private and public. They had taken steps to restrict immigra tion during the winter months of unskilled labour. The arrangements made by the Public Works Department have progressed so far that work under that .Department will be made available immediately, or in the near future, for some 2000 men, in addition to those already employed. "The greatest care will be taken to ensure that, so far as possible, money will be expended on reproductive work," said Mr Coates; "but it is here necessary to state that the work on which these men will be employed, though of distinct value to the country, if only in the direction of providing better access, particularly for backblock settlers, is, nevertheless, in advance of the programme that has been laid down, and necessitates provision for extra finance. . It will be under--stood, also, that the necessity of making provision for tents, tools, materials and supervision renders the cost of employing extra men much greater than the bare wages paid. In these circumstances it is felt that, with the object of limiting the employment available to cases of actual necessity, it would not be right to offer wages for these workers equal to these paid to regular Public Works Department employees; further, as a considerable proportion of the unemployed are seasonal workers, who should, at the appropriate time, return to their normal employment, it is essential that the wage offered should not be. high enough to induce them to remain indefinitely with Public Works Department." In the Wellington public works district work will be available immediately for 175 men, on application to the Labour Department.