BRITAIN REACHES MANPOWER LIMIT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 230, 28 September 1943, Page 4

BRITAIN REACHES MANPOWER LIMIT

DIFFICULT PHASE

230 Unofficial Strikes In

Six Weeks

N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Kec. 2.30 p.m. LONDON. Sept. 27. Britain is passing through a some what difficult stage domestically a present, it is due to the outbreal of unauthorised strikes which an notS S i^ P ?' S^ent th " + they c ™ not ainlj be dismissea. In the period from August 5 tr September 18 there were 230 un 270 C nnn f Vl \ e - S ' h ™ lvi "g the loss o 2/0,000 working days. To-day come< news that for ten days 9000 enli ViS! T° rker f in the arms firm o Vickeis have been on strike ovei fWo pay> and }t is stated thai breakin- Prospect of the strike In order that people abroad may maintain proper perspective in regard to this position it should be borne in mind that last week's manpower debate in the House of Commons showed that Britain has reached the limit of mobilisation of manpower and womanpower, and that the degree of mobilisation exceeds that of any other country engaged in the war, whether an allv or enemy. What is the reason for the present phase? This is a question that is occupying manv minds at present. It has been asked whether the Government is requiring more of the country than it is capable of doing to overthrow Nazi-ism. Physical and Mental Strain The Economist newspaper seems to put its finger on the spot when it says that "the frictions of the fifth year of war mirror the hard labour of the four that have gone. Workers, managers, employers and administrators have undergone great physical and mental strain—not comparable in any way to the suffering in occupied Europe or war-wracked Russia, though for a longer period, but sufficient to make understandable far more unrest than has appeared. The causes of most of the strikes which have been given head- j lines in recent days are local and j personal. They concern grievances of individuals or the exasperation of relatively small groups of workers. They are important because they may be symptomatic of greater unrest to come. They undoubtedly represent a seuious warning, but should not be over-estimated."

Referring to the" position of the coal, ship-building and'transport industries, the paper adds that the increase in the number of working days lost is "not yet evidence of serious labour unrest, but indicates widespread fraying of nerves and •goodwill. Workers are vexed by wartime conditions and troubled about their prospects after the war; the absence of Government decisions on post-war policy causes scepticism and alarm." There is an increasingly growing widespread demand for more definite Government statements on postwar policy and the general hope that Mr. Churchill will soon be able to find time to turn his attention to the home front in addition to the time he must give to the world front.