H.— 39

22

Under-rate Workers or Subsidized Workers. Some monetary supplement or compensation will have to be introduced into the arrangements made for the employment of many of the disabled men. There are numbers of tradesmen, artisans, and more or less skilled labourers who are not able to turn out an average amount of work per day, and who are therefore not competent to earn standard wages. We see no escape from the position that in such cases the difference between their true earning - capacity and the standard wage must be made up by the State. This has been recognized in the past, and, so far as members of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force are concerned, provision for it is contained in the regulations under the Repatriation Act. It is a scheme which gives rise to difficulties, but we are satisfied that with intelligence and tact these difficulties will not be insuperable. Labour unions and labour leaders will be watchful and jealous of anything that may tend to lower the existing standard of working conditions and pay, and the scheme we are advocating will be a success only if their co-operation is obtained. Several Repatriation Officers gave evidence on this point, and assured us that the provision for under-rate permits was found to be workable, and provoked no unreasonable opposition from the unions if it were applied with due regard to the rights and standards we have drawn attention to. The evidence of these Repatriation Officers was that if there was no suggestion or desire to unduly load an industry or undertaking with under-rate workers, or to apply unnecessarily for under-rate permits, there was no difficulty in procuring the acquiescence of the union authorities in the obtaining of under-rate permits in all necessary and reasonable cases. Our Major Recommendation. " The Advisability of adopting any Particular Means which may be proposed to or by you for that Purpose." This subheading of question No. 3 seems to us to invite our statement of constructive policy. We read it accordingly, and tender the following as our major suggestion for the rehabilitation of the disabled. Briefly, we advocate the formation of a new body to have and to undertake as its function the creation, organization, development, and administration of all branches of activity and all schemes designed for the rehabilitation and betterment of ex-service men in this Dominion. The advantages we aim at are, firstly, co-ordination of efforts that are now divided amongst various bodies ; secondly, uniformity of operation within the Dominion as far as possible and consistent with the necessary elasticity to meet local conditions ; and, thirdly, the creation of a body that can negotiate promptly and authoritatively with the Government of the Dominion, local bodies, and private employers in the interests of returned soldiers. Our idea is that this central body at its headquarters should have an executive that can watch, deal with, secure, and promote all matters of principle or policy affecting the interests of returned soldiers ; that it should be capable where necessary of negotiating with the Government of the day, with local bodies and other corporations ; that it should promote and watch the promotion and passing of legislation, and discuss and advise on policies adopted for carrying out legislation, and policies and methods for the social, industrial, economic, health, and general welfare of returned soldiers. We suggest that this body should have departments or committees each designed to take in hand some specified part of the whole work of the body ; that branches of this body should exist in all the large centres of population where the branches will themselves function, to carry out the objects and aims of the body, and also have power to co-operate with and, if necessary, affiliate with sub-organizations where it seems desirable to work in that fashion. We suggest also that this body should, in addition to its foregoing activities, be in appropriate cases the employer and the trainer of men, the negotiator of contracts for employment with other employers ; that it should engage and control the employment and after - care officers ; assist in the establishment of policies for settling returned soldiers on the land, and in the carrying-out of those policies. We think it desirable that for this purpose it should co-opt on its various committees State officers from the Departments concerned. We suggest that it should deal in principle, and to some extent in administration, with applications for and the granting of pensions, and for this purpose should have power to co-opt officers of the Pensions Department on the appropriate committees. We think that it shoidd eventually control all funds available for the alleviation of the conditions of ex-service men.