POWER CRISIS IN INDUSTRY

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25206, 10 June 1947, Page 6

POWER CRISIS IN INDUSTRY

MAINTENANCE OF PRODUCTION TRADES HALL OFFICIAL’S SUGGESTIONS “The power crisis has become an industrial crisis of some magnitude,” said Mr H. G. Kilpatrick, immediate past vice-president of the Canterbury Trades Council of the Federation of Labour, yesterday, when he urged that employers and workers should get together to devise methods of capacity production of plant in the hours power is available. Luckily, the meat export season in the meat freezing industry was now past its peak and was tapering off; but there was no doubt that in all factory industries working from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the position was very serious, said Mr Kilpatrick, who expressed his views in the absence at tne Labour Party’s conference in Wellington of Trades Council officials It was obvious that if power was to be conserved production must suffer; yet very few persons appeared to have faced that issue squarely. All attempts to shorten lunch-hours and to work overtime, while maintaining production, would not conserve power, the paramount consideration. “From my knowledge of industry I believe that a great deal can be done if workers and employers in all factories got together and planned to maintain the highest possible output during the periods of restrictions,” he said. “I feel that this method would have infinitely better results than from the employers acting on their own and without consulting the workers. Further, I think that any attempt to reduce the wages of workers on hourly rates would have a very bad effect, not only on the w.orkers directly concerned, but also on all other workers who would come to hear of the reduced payments. ‘‘Factory production committees, with their close knowledge of the particular factories, should be able to do the maximum in minimising the effects of the power restrictions and to maintain the utmost production. I strongly advise all concerned to get together without delay, as, under the power restrictions, production must fall about 12J per cent, daily unless the machines are kept working to their maximum capacity without using more power. That, surely, can be done by replanning and reorganisation of work in many cases without any harmful effect on the workers.” It was in the interests of all that In this time of crisis the utmost production should be maintained, said Mr Kilpatrick. A natural corollary to discussions on maintaining production was the much-talked-of question of incentive pay, even as a temporary expedient during the crisis.