Political report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the ... Zionist Congress and the ... session of the Council of the Jewish Agency · 1937-08-01 · 8.1937 · p. Seite 53

53 To these representations there was a prompt response. The first three of the four items enumerated were approved by the Government and work on their construction was soon taken in hand. A total of 37.5 kilometres of road in three important zones of Jewish settlement was thus built in the autumn of 1936 and completed in the spring of 1937. These works were done mainly with Jewish labour whose wage bill amounted to about LP.70,000. Later in 1937 the Government continued the construction of the North Road from Hederah northwards. 71. The same measure of success did not attend the efforts made by the Executive in regard to the construction of local roads. In consultation with the various bodies concerned, a minimum programme of local roads required for the Jewish population was drawn up. The list covered a total of 89 kms. The items approved by the Department of Public Works as coming within the category of roads for which Government contribution might properly be expected totalled 62 kms. Originally, it had been hoped to secure for the current year an appropriation of LP. 20,000 from the Government, to which an equal amount would have been added as the contribution of the Jewish settlements. This total of LP. 40,000 would have rendered possible the carrying out of a considerable part of the above programme in the current year. The appropriation, however, was successively reduced, and finally only LP. 5,000 was provided by the Government, the total available thus being only LP. 10,000. With this amount only one item in the Jewish Agency's programme could be approved, covering in all a length of 5 kms. Work on the road in question is expected to start soon. EMPLOYMENT OF JEWISH LABOUR BY THE GOVERNMENT 72. The question of securing to Jewish labour a fair share of employment in Government works and services was one of the subjects which, though permanently on the agenda of the Jewish Agency, assumed a special urgency during the disturbances. Reference has already been made to the negotiations which took place in the period preceding the outbreak of April, 1936, regarding the introduction of Jewish labour into port works and to their unsatisfactory results at that stage. During that period a renewed attempt