§ 61. Sir L. Plummerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what, in terms of employment of Fijians, has been the result of the Fiji Government's policy of retrenchment.
§ Mr. J. AmeryThe Public Works Department has laid off 871 workers since Christmas on the completion of projects, half of them Fijians: about 10 per cent. of the total have since been re-engaged. The number of men laid off by other Departments is not available at short notice, but the figure is certainly small, and the total employed shows a net increase.
Employment in non-Government undertakings employed in building and allied trades, which are those most affected, has risen by 713 since August, 1958, thus absorbing many of those laid off by Government. Only 248 unemployed labourers have registered with the Labour Department, and 42 of them have been placed.