Numbers of Men Illictly Postpone E.P.S. Enrolment

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1942, Page 4

Numbers of Men Illictly Postpone E.P.S. Enrolment

Wellington, Aug. 24. The obligation on employers to see that their male employees were enrolled in the Emergency Precautions Services is emphasised by the Minister of Civil Defence, the Hon. W. A. Bodkin. He said. that there were strong grounds for a belief that numbers of men were either evading or unlawfully postponing enrolment in Emergency Precautions Services, despite repeated warning that such default made them liable to a penalty which might be up to £50, or a sentence of three months' Imprisonment. "Employers are again reminded," said the Minister, "that they are required by regulation to co-operate with the authorities in this very important matter. There is a deflnite duty on them to check up on all male employees, from the ages of 18 to 65, to ensure that, if they are not actively serving in the armed forces, they have enrolled in the E.P.S. An employee's production of an acknowledgment from his local E.P.S. of receipt of of an enrolment form or an E.P.S. identification certificate will be sufficient evidence of compliance with the regulatlons. In cases of doubt employers should get in touch with the local E.P.S. organisations. Cases of apparent default should be reported to the Director of National Service. ■'Any employers who have tended to be lax are running the risk of severe penalties. An individual employer who Js found guilty of neglect may be fineti £50 and £5 for evety day of the period during which the neglect continues. The penalty for a body corporate may be up to £200 and £20 a day for continuance oi neglect. "The national emergency," concluded the Minister, "makes it imperative for the authorities to do their utmost to check deltaquencies. Men who have refrained from doing their duty in the E.P.S. have shown a very poor appreclation of the basic principles of patriotism Their delay in joining up means. too, that the whole of their training still rcmains to be done. It is hoped that no further waming will be needed to induce the men concemed to take their proper part in measures for national safety."