STATE SHOULD AID UNEMPLOYED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 355, 16 May 1928, Page 1

STATE SHOULD AID UNEMPLOYED

WORKERS AND INDUSTRY

Industrial Conference’s Report Far-reaching Proposals : Complete Harmony (From Out Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, To-day. rORTANT and far-reaching recommendations were made to the National Industrial Conference on its resumption to-day by the special sub-committee, which has been working daily for the past few weeks. The committee’s recommendations may be described as being amongst the most momentous ever made on any national problem in New Zealand. The Report Committee agreed that the present the problem of unemployment in the Dominion is acute, and was of the opinion that the Government must provide, out of the Consolidated Fund, such sums as are necessary to eope with the situation. As exact information is unavailable to enable the committee to formulate a permanent ttheme to deal with the recurrent problem of seasonal and periodic unemployment it recommended that the Government Statictical Department should concentrate upon the collection of accurate data. The committee’s recommendations on unemployment were carried unanimously. , The report covered the question of immigration very thoroughly and stressed the need for a drastic sifting of migrants upon physical and economic grounds.

Mr. Tom Bloodworth, of Auckland, chairman of the sub-committee, in presenting the report, said that the whole conference approached the inquiry with a full sense of the responsibility, but members of the committee (alt an added sense of responsibility in presenting the report. Such was the good feeling between the members that, had the' conference not resulted

“T concrete proposals, much good would nave been done as a consetoence of the long and intimate assoaatiw between the employers and emWto. Each side would understand gather’s viewpoint far better than Bitßtan. T. S. Weston, from the eml"?®™ side, also emphasised the ujus of the friendly spirit of the conand said that the goodwill on u sides would be of great value to country as a whole. ™ report is as follows: special sub-committee comits sittings at 3.30 p.m. on and wiUl brief adjournments sitting until the evening of .'ouniiJi a . y 1B - The sub-committee Sail. J j better progress could be departing from the agendaur ky the Parliamentary lts ordinal form, and Sou < Sr y w hole of the deliberata.Vß. been upon the more im*s*s Industrial laws, with the obi JfT a f nins amendments which, hn fbe sub-committee, ttions rfr 1 ? under the existing conT" O- industry. of lts deliberations the b»»imoiu tteo ls able to Present 'Sbortanf 3 recommendations upon ®ef of unemployment ; »o»,^.« lßration - and the Workers’ Act| these recommenbeing as follow: a UNEMPLOYM ENT is ProhuJ^ re bSreed that at present •’Wnion n? ° f unem Ployment in the a that th a< 2i* te ’ and *t is our opin- '■ Se, ont Government must p.rosich aun,. 1 016 Consolidated Fund, situation 6 necessary to cope to i pniK» nforination is not availUs to formulate a *»«Wit n^, eme to deal "nth the u iL ° b ~ :m of seasonal and recomm^ P i°L ment ' We there■*’Jatiea! r./"* tl>at the Government * toncentro+ rtment should fortht 4 c empiiati(fn tS , upon the collection object of 'a °J accurate data with '“’•ible (») , det ermining as far as *?xUc ana . ° auses and volume of ■2 the J?? lS ,v'? aI unemployment, Jhtnioa labour S 'a >lUty of organising ' Jl OUse the *rr dema nd so as to on the ,5 ec l of seas onal condi*»t 9 regularity of employ-

(3) Careful investigation should also be made to decide the most suitable form of productive work, under State control, which could absorb from time to time labour temporarily not required in industry. (4) Foe the purpose of this investigation, and to assist in the administration of temporary measures, we recommend the Government to appoint immediately a committee of three, consisting of a Government representative, and on© representative each of employers and workers. (5) The functions of this committee should be: (a) To analyse and consider detailed statistical data as to supply of and demand for employment in various industries throughout the years. (b) To conduct special inquiries as to the incidence and causation of unemployment in various industries. Cc) To _ co-operate with private employers, Government departments and local authorities in an endeavour to provide avenues of employment, and to regulate the demand for labour in connection with temporary measures taken by the Government. (d) To co-operate with the Immigration Department with respect to the employment of immigrants. (e) Regularly to furnish detailed information as to the trend of employment. Workers' representatives on the subcommittee submit the following addendum: That the committee referred to in clause 4 should consist of five members instead of three, one Government representative, and two representatives each of the employers and workers, and that the scheme of unemployment insurance should be instituted. EDUCATION This sub-committee urges the Government to shape the education system in the direction of encouraging as many boys as possible to take up farming occupations rather than professional and commercial vocations, tliis to apply to city, town and country schools. This sub-committee is of the opinion that under the present system there ar© not sufficient openings for boys educated in cities and towns, and that farming presents almost unlimited scope for their employment, while positions in town industries are limited. IMMIGRATION While fully recognising our own responsibilities, in common with those of all other countries within the British Empire to co-operate, in solving the problems of the redistribution of population, this sub-committee recommends: (1) Th© strictest possible supervision of the nomination system for all classes of migrants, both as regards the immigrant and the ability and capacity of nominators to perform their obligations. (2) That there should be an efficient medical examination of all migrants, assisted or otherwise, and that this examination should take place at the port of embarkation by medical officers appointed by the New Zealand Government. (3) That immigration should be regulated in accordance with the stat© of the labour market in New Zealand, and with due regard to the ability of the Dominion to absorb immigrants in employment. (4) That the Immigration Department be given * control of the examination of the health and financial qualifications of juvenile and adult immigrants, whether assisted or otherwise. WORKERS’ COMPENSATION ACT The committee recommends: (1) That insurance be compulsory, subject to an exception where an'employer can satisfy a competent authority that, either by mutual insurance scheme, or from his own resources, the worker is adequately covered. (2) That it is advisable that the Government should carefully investigate the principles of working and cost of the Ontario system of workmen’s compensation, with a view to determining, having regard to New Zealand conditions, what, if any, of its provisions might with advantage be adopted in the Dominion, and that, in any case, it is desirable that medical, surgical and hospital services necessary as the result of injury, and for the rehabilitation of the injured worker, should be provided for, provided always that, whatever scheme of insurance is adopted, it shall cover all classes of workers at present covered by the New Zealand Act. gb&X in case# of PftEN

ments the court be empowered to make the payments in such a way as will give protection to all dependants, appointing, if necessary, guardians for children. REPORT APPROVED Mr. O. Mcßryne moved the adoption of the report and referred particularly to the recommendations concerning education for farming occupations. Mr. E. R. Sterling seconded the motion, and the report was adopted. In the subsequent discussion several delegates, especially from the Labour side of the conference, expressed regret that the committee had not made any recommendations regarding unemployment insurance. Particular stress was laid upon the necessity for encouraging boys to go on the land, and the problem of finding winter employment for seasonal workers. The employers' representatives agreed that an unemployed man was an economic loss to the country, and such a waste of man-power should be prevented. New Zealand was principally an agricultural and pastoral country, and there was unlimited room for a greater number of workers on the land.

IS IT EXAGGERATED? DEGREE OF UNEMPLOYMENT A FEW WORDS ON TARIFF (From. Our Resident Reporter.) WELLINGTON, To-day. Speaking at the Industrial Conference, the Hon. T. S. Weston referred to th© exaggeration of the unemployment situation, and said that such exaggeration did a good deal of harm to the worker and his cause. Taking the maximum estimate of the Dominion unemployment at 10,000, there was one person unemployed for every 43.5 workers, whereas England had one unemployed to 12 workers and America one to 8.5. Naturally one would expect some unemployment in a young country, but th© situation was not nearly as serious here as was made to appear, and that was why the employers’ representatives, before adopting any permanent remedy, were anxious to make absolutely sure of the dimensions of the problem and its causes.

Mr. B. Barber, representing the manufacturers, made a strong plea for workers to support secondary industries, and raised a storm of protest by stating that a higher tariff would not increase the cost of commodities, quoting Australia as proof. His contention was that the woollen mills of New Zealand would absorb 1,000 more workers if imports were smaller. New Zealand could not prosper on primary industries alone.

Mr. J. S. Jessep, representing the sheep-farmers, strongly protested against Mr. Barber’s statement and quoted the instance of boots manufactured in London selling at 31s lOd at Auckland, with only 10 per cent, profit to the retailer. The Christchurch Chamber of Commerce, he said, estimated that 3s 2d was added to every pound worth of imports. Tariffs had added to the cost ©£ production until the producer could not compete in the world’s markets. The wheatgrowers were forced to ask for protection, pig breeders were given a subsidy, and next the dairy farmer would ask for a bounty on butter, and then where would New Zealand be? There was plenty of land in New Zealand uncultivated because the cost of production was so artificially raised. The dairy farmer was only just making ends meet and if the cost of production is increased further he will be put right out. The farmers in New Zealand would employ the whole of the workers if artificial restrictions are removed. Make farming more attractive was the suggestion of another speaker.

ONTARIO SYSTEM

COMPENSATION OF WORKERS HAZARDS AND INDUSTRIES The passage of the Ontario Workmen’s Compensation Act in 1914, which marked an epoch in industrial legislation, introduced the new principle of making compensation for accidents a charge upon the industry concerned insstead of a liability of the individual employer. Then tenor of the Act was inspired by the finding of a Royal Commission. The working out of the basic principle of the Act necessitated the establishment of a State board to administer an accident fund composed exclusively of compulsory contributions from employers grouped in classes and assessed according to the hazard of the industry. As in all Workmen’s Compensation Acts in the Dominion of Canada, this legislation covers practically the

whole industrial field, including manufacturing, construction, lumbering, mining, quarrying, transportation and public utilities. Under the administration of the board, 24 classes of industry pay various percentages of their pay roll annually to the board, and escape individual civil liability for accidents, the percentage of pay roll collected being graded according to the degree of hazard in the specific occupation. In 1925 this contribution ranged from five cents for every 100 dollars of pay roll in clothing manufacturing, to five dollars for every 100 dollars pay roll in quarrying, and averaged for all classes one dollar 13 cents for every 100 dollars of pay roll. This swelled the fund by 395.619,000 dollars. LARGE SUMS PAID Certain industries, including municipal undertakings, railways, car shops, telegraphs and telephones, are made individually liable to pay compensation at the rate fixed by the Act, and are therefore not called upon to contribute to the general fund. Employees of the Dominion of Canada, or of the province of Ontario, who are killed or injured in the discharge of their duty, are by special legislation placed on the same footing as those of private employers of the second class.