Shortage Of Labour In Building Industry

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29335, 14 October 1960, Page 12

Shortage Of Labour In Building Industry

The Christchurch Metropolitan Fire Board is justified in complaining to the Government about the shortage of tradesmen for commercial building. Since war-time restrictions were introduced, the construction of offices, factories, and other business premises has been hampered seriously by factors beyond the landowners’ or builders’ control. Any local body such as the fire board, anxious to improve its facilities, has a strong reason for complaint when its building plans are delayed through a labour shortage for which Government policies are at least partly to blame. According to the latest employment survey of the Department of Labour, vacancies in industry generally have begun to increase again after declining for more than four years. One of the most important contributors to this trend is the construction industry, vacancies in which totalled 1958 in April. During the six months ended in August the number of vacancies in this industry alone increased by 733. In competition for available labour.

contractors for commercial buildings are at a disadvantage compared with builders of houses, who enjoy the stimulus of artificially cheap money.

Unless labour resources can be shared more, equitably, necessary commercial development will continue to be impeded. A committee of the recent Industrial Development Conference in Wellington reported that the adverse consequences of the Dominion’s shortage of skilled labour were “ likely to be intensified as the “ economy progresses, since the “ kind of growth required in “ New Zealand will be based “ increasingly on skills in the “ production of goods and “ services ”. The committee urged that more skilled tradesmen should be encouraged to migrate to Nbw Zealand, and that the New Zealand Government might. co-opera?e ■ more with private industry in organising The present Government’s immigration policy has been one of masterly inactivity. Meanwhile the overseas resources of suitable migrants have dwindled almost to extinction.