TRADESMEN NEEDED

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28532, 11 March 1958, Page 14

TRADESMEN NEEDED

Master Builders’ Request

(a'/owa Our Own R&psrter)

TIMARU, March 10. The New Zealand Master Builders’ Federation decided at its annual conference today to advise the Government immigration authorities that it considered the labour force in the building industry required more suitable type tradesmen, and particularly carpenters, bricklayers and plasterers.

Moving the adoption of the remit, the president of the Canterbury association (Mr J. W. Bradshaw) said his association had gone into the labour position and found that there was a definite shortage with no promise of local relief. All of the boys who had left school last year and applied for positions had been absorbed into the trade, and there were no others to fill the vacancies. Mr Bradshaw suggested that the recently imposed import controls would have a further effect on the position. The restrictions would mean that more manufacturing would have to be done in New Zealand and labour would be “enticed into other avenues of employment.” More immigrants should be brought into the country, said Mr Bradshaw, and they should be more thoroughly screened, as he had heard of cases where tradesmen recruited from immigrant arrivals had not been a success. The motion was carried unanimously.

Another Canterbury remit, that “the increase in housing loans decided upon by the Government for married men with one child be made available also to men about to be married, or married men with no children,’’ was also adopted. Other remits carried by the federation were that the State Forest Service be asked to increase considerably the plantings of Douglas fir (an Otago remit) and the Southland association’s request that the federation endeavour to have Southland beech flooring approved for use without treatment. A remit which received considerable support came from the Wellington association, and urged that the federation take immediate action with architects and ah specifying authorities to discontinue the practice of specifying in the conditions of tender, that deposits lodged when plans were uplifted were returnable oniy upon receipt of a bona fide tender. The conference adopted the remit unanimously.