MACHINISTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 63, 15 March 1944, Page 4

MACHINISTS

A friend and I were very amused at the article in your paper about the I shortage of machinists, etc., in clothing factories, as she and I are both expert machinists and have made a round of every clothing factory in Auckland, where we have been offered £3 1/ per week, less 7/6 social security, making £2 13/6 per week. Out of that I pay £1 5/ for rent, £1 buys food—and I go jolly hungry at that—2/6 for fares, and I am left 6/ for extras and clothes. Certainly, if I like to work myself to death on overtime I can make more, but eight hours a day at a power machine is enough for anyone. So we find that we can get £3 11/6 clear washing up dishes (as the Government does not think the clothing industry is sufficiently important to pay decent wages). They would find no difficulty in getting more than enough women and girls to do the work if wages were attractive enough. In Australia the Government had to raise the machinists' minimum wages to £3 15/3 —and as much over as an employer liked to give—in order to get the work done. ISABEL AND MARGARET,