BEST USE OF LABOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 127, 25 November 1938, Page 8

BEST USE OF LABOUR

. An assurance has "been given by the Minister of Public Works that employees who leave public works employment for seasonal occupations or trades in which their services are needed will not be prejudiced in their claims for holidays or their prospects of re-engagement. The Minister of Labour has followed this up with a warning that men on sustenance and certain special subsidised schemes must accept private work when offered to them under award or statutory conditions. The offer and the warning are designed to meet a serious need in New Zea-. land at the present time. It is not enough that everybody should be employed; indeed, if carried to an extreme, mere employment means nothing. If the whole population of New Zealand were very busy stringing beads the country would be as bankrupt as if everybody did nothing —unless the demand for beads were equal to the supply. Real prosperity is assured by putting labour where it is most needed. At present there is no doubt that men can be used in trades and primary seasonal occupations; and they can be spared from certain public works. This will mean gain to trades and primary production, and, almost equally important, saving to public works and State employment funds. As political leaders, the two Ministers have shown the way, and tlie secretary of the New Zealand Workers' Union, in a message to shearers, has given strong and well-reasoned support. In the interests of the country it may be hoped that the response will be immediate and sufficient.