One From Every Three Registered Workers Directed

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 161, 10 July 1945, Page 4

One From Every Three Registered Workers Directed

By E. K. GREEN

TXfITH the best, and fairest, system of control and organisation in operation, the utilisation of available manpower under war conditions would still be a source of irritation to both individuals and industries who were at the sacrificial end of the undertaking. Any haphazard, careless or, callous use of the powers vested in the controlling officers would be insufferable.

I have been given evidence in the past few days that the Auckland office of the' Manpower Division exercises considerable care in the use of its powers, and does endeavour, as far as possible, to consider the interests of individuals as well as the national war effort. Officials, do not claim perfection, but their effort, does merit more credit than they are generally given.

The of actual "call-ups" to registrations in Auckland, according to quoted figures, is in the vicinity of 1 to 3; in Wellington it approximates about 1 to 4. I was told some time ago by Mr- H- L. Bockett, Director of National Service, that the Wellington ratio is as much as ten times greater than the figures for some South Island main centres. Relating Supply to Demand These figures indicate the need there has been in the two largest cities to exercise the greatest care in meeting manpower shortages in essential industries by withdrawals from less essential sources. It demonstrates, equally, the measure of co-operation the. manpower authorities have enjoyed.

To meet Wellington needs some labour was withdrawn from the South Island, a situation which led to some severe criticism in the south, though there was a balancing factor in the use of some North Island military forces to assist in the southern grain harvest. Auckland has been helped by the voluntary drift of labour (an estimated total of 30,000 men, women and children) to this city during the war years.

To ensure that the burden of providing labour for a rapidly developing industry was spread as equitably as possible, and that the exact needs of industry could be seen at a glance, surveys have been taken from time to time, since 1942, in each of the major industries and even in some country centres.

In the first stages the manpower officers did not have the vital assistance of these surveys. The direction of labour was begun in January, 1942; the first Auckland survey, in the clothing industry, was made in December of that year. Others have been made at various times since then, and some are still to be made, though the major undertakings have now all been covered. Clothing Trade Best Organised The clothing trade is now probably the best organised .in the country. Its manpower and manpower needs have been surveyed, and the supply position has also been exactly assessed from time to time by the Garment Control Council. The manpower officers are thus able to relate the labour needs to the supply need, and to endeavour to adjust the still existing gaps. Essentiality declarations in this field cover 120 factories in Auckland with a staff of at least-12. The biggest factory here employs 321 workers, but there are several firms with near that total. ~ The survey has been extended to cover all establishments employing one or more of a staff and it reveals that there are 6300 workers in the trade in the Auckland district . one of the biggest employing agencies in the area.

Each firm was supplied with a form on which were recorded the names of all employees, the exact nature of their work, the period of experience, the amount of wages received, and the number of hours worked in each of four consecutive weeks prior to the survey. Employers were also asked to grade their employees in three classes according to efficiency.

As a further check' on the labour needs and output potential of the industry a further survey was made in March of this year regarding the amount of idle plant in factories making shirts and pyjamas, and men's and boys' outerwear. It was found there were 160 idle machines in the first group and 453 in the second.

Some, of these machines may be idle for other reasons than manpower shortage, but that is the major cause, and it is a strong illustration of Ihe part that short labour is playing in the clothing supply position. The number of operatives in the industry has been increased by 200 in the past two years, and this, plus a tapering off in military orders in the past three months, has resulted in an improved civilian output Making "Shifts" Of Labour To meet the first priority needs shown by Garment Control Council surveys there have had to be "shifts" of labour in the industry from time to time, workers being drawn from the 276 clothing factories, 39 military firms and 62 tailors and dressmakers of the district. How these shifts were achieved shows how the manpower office works. At the start a "paper selection" is made from the big survey volume— an endeavour being made to draw off from each firm, in fair proportion, types of workers who will meet the priority needs without causing too much upset in the factories fforn which they are taken. These workers are then called in for an interview, and both employers and individuals are given the opportunity of presenting any facts likely to affect the final decision. As an illustration, in OctoberSeptember, 1944, it was decided that a transfer of labour was needed to increase production of men's suits, sports coats, trousers and overcoats. Eighty-six girls from other clothing groups were directed to this work after a paper selection of 120, of whom 50 actually complied with the direction. The result was a noticeable increase in the output of the needed garments. ....... With shortages of labour m all sections of the industry the present endeavour is merely to balance the output in each of the various sections. Three Called; One Gained Experience has shown the officers of the Manpower Division that about three \yorkers have to be called for interview for each gain of one worker for the needed purpose. The staffing of clothing factories has also been increased by the direction of 39 Waacs and Waafs to the industry, and by an intake of 73 "under eighteens" who have undertaken the work on the advice of Vocational Guidance officers. Officials emphasise that, though they frequently hear complaints about "favouritism" they are scrupulously fair in their directions. Some cases may look suspicious only because the public, is not in possession of all the facts involved. .