SHORT SUPPLY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 218, 14 September 1944, Page 6

SHORT SUPPLY

SHIRTS AND PYJAMAS

DIRECTION OF MACHINISTS

Shirts and pyjamas were in critically short supply and every possible avenue of increasing production in these lines had been explored, said the manpower officer, Mr. C. G. S. Ellis, at a sitting of the Auckland Industrial Manpower Committee this morning. Plans for stepping up the production of men's and boys' pyjamas and shirts had been placed before .the district utilisation committee, following investigations by the National Garment Control Council, added Mr. iMiis. It had been decided that a substantial improvement in the position could be effected by an intersectional switching of labour in the industry. Priorities of production were ascertained and it was decided that, following military garments for New Zealand forces in essentiality were those civilian garments which were in most critically short supply. An important factor was that these garments should be manufactured so that they could be sold within the stabilised price group. Seventy per cent of labour had been diverted from the frock group, 20 per cent from the millinery group and 10 per cent from the gloves, furs, and textile toys group. Due to this switch in labour Auckland's output of shirts and pyjamas had increased, said Mr. Ellis. In the past year there had been a '-crease of more than 80 machinists employed in the men's and boys' outerwear group in Auckland and an increase of 43 in the shirts and ■pyjamas group. These were the groups now benefiting from the diversion of labour within the industry-

Many Appeals "Lodged Mr. Ellis' remarks were made prior to the hearing by the committee of the first section of appeals against directions to clothing factories manufacturing garments in the Priority A category. Eight appeals were heard this morning, the committee reserving its decision in each case, and more than 70 others will be heard in the course of next week. Mr. Ellis stated that the selection of machinists to be directed had followed on an exhaustive paper survey made in Auckland factories, in the course of which some 200 machinists had been interviewed. During the hearing of one of the appeals the question of a further distribution of essential work was raised, Mr. Ellis remarking that offorts made to spread the work had not been satisfactory, due to the fact that machine plant in certain factories was not suitable. The price factor had also been a prohibitive consideration and in some cases the articles produced had not been satisfactory.