asked the Minister for Labour the number of workers declared redundant in (a) agriculture, (b) industry and (c) services during the year ended 30th April, 1971; and what action there has been to retrain them for other employment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Redundant Workers.
29.
In the year ended 30th April, 1971, the number of notifications received in my Department of the dismissal of workers claiming redundancy payments was 5,309, of whom 523 were in agriculture, 2,890 in industry and 1,896 in the services sector.
These figures include, of course, skilled as well as unskilled workers. The first concern of the National Manpower Service of my Department is to try to have redundant workers placed in alternative jobs for which they are suitable because of their existing skills or experience. The National Manpower Service and AnCO advise the workers fully about the training available in the AnCO training centres. The workers are also told about the training allowances available while on training courses as well as the assistance under the resettlement allowances scheme towards the cost of travelling to the training centres.
It has been the experience that, in general, redundant workers are reluctant to avail of retraining facilities, which may involve absence from their home towns during the training period. As I announced in my speech on the Estimates for my Department on 6th May, I am providing in this financial year £50,000 to enable AnCO to provide retraining facilities on the spot where redundancies occur in areas heavily dependent on particular industries. I hope that this arrangement will encourage more redundant workers to undergo retraining.