CHANGES FORECAST

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 146, 22 June 1945, Page 6

CHANGES FORECAST

MANPOWER REGULATIONS

RELAXATION LIKELY

WHANGAREI. Thursday.

The exemption of certain categories of labour from the manpower regulations, and the lifting of the order of essentiality from some industries within a week or two. was forecast by Mr. C. J. Hay, liaison officer to the Minister of National Service, Mr. McLagan. when speaking to-day to members of the Whangarei Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Hay said that the need for some regulations was passing, and it was proposed by the Government to relax these regulations in respect to certain classes of labour, and also certain industries which were not now engaged on essential work or had largely turned over to normal activities. The manpower regulations could not be immediately" generally relaxed, as if such a course were pursued there would be chaos in many industries.

It was expected there would shortly be an announcement exempting certain classes of workers from the regulations, and workers in the categories so exempted would then be free to leave their present employment on application, but that was not to say that such a worker could leave an essential undertaking and immediately find employment in an unessential undertaking. Some classes of labour, however, might be given complete freedom of choice. Such workers would be encouraged to remain in their present essential occupations. The National Service Department had complete records of the labour

available, added Mr. Hay, and a survey was now being undertaken among the armed forces to complete this record so that there would be available a complete schedule of the manpower resources of the Dominion. Then the Department would be asking industry for a schedule of work available for the manpower that was at hand. . .