EXEMPTION FROM DIRECTION

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24653, 24 August 1945, Page 4

EXEMPTION FROM DIRECTION

EFFECT OF RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

MINISTER EXPLAINS POSITION

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, August 23.

The position of returned servicemen of special drafts who were released from overseas service to engage in certain high priority industries was explained to-day by the Minister of Industrial Manpower (the Hon. A. McLagan). The largest group or these men were those who were serving with the 3rd Division in the Pacific, and were brought back as volunteers for essential employment. Mr McLagan said some doubt appeared to have arisen about the position of some returned servicemen and other persons in respect of whom further exemptions from manpower direction were recently announced. He said no further manpower directions for returned servicemen would be issued. As a large number of those men who were released from overseas service to engage in essential work were engaged in high priority industries, in particular sawmilling, farming, and- food production, it might be necessary in a number of cases to defer their releases till general demobilisation made the manpower position easier, and their releases could be granted. Wherever releases could be granted immediately this would be done, and in other cases they would be released as soon as replacements became available. They would then be free from any further manpower control, Mr McLagan said other classes exempted from manpower direction were married women of any age, women of 30 years of age and over, men of 45 years of age and over, persons under 18, and widows of servicemen. The two last-mentioned were fully exempt from direction, and were also free to leave essential employment should they choose to do so, the manpower officer s approval being granted automatically. While the first three groups were exempt from further direction they did not, except in the case of married women desiring to tako up home duties, qualify for automatic consent to terminate their employment in essential undertakings. Applications for such persons to leave essential employment would continue to be dealt with on their individual merits, but releases would be granted wherever practicable. That would apply, however, only for so long as the undertakings in which they were employed were covered by declarations of essentiality, and as several of such declarations were to be revoked in the near future, the number of persons who would be free to leave their employment would progressively increase.