LABOUR FOR BUILDING

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30880, 13 October 1965, Page 16

LABOUR FOR BUILDING

Need Seen As Urgent (From Our Own Reporter) HANMER SPRINGS, Oct. 12. More labour for the timber and housing industries was urgently needed, said the president of the New Zealand Timber Merchants’ Federation (Mr H. C. Smart) in his address to the fiftieth annual conference of the federation at Hamner Springs. “Vacancies for building tradesmen again showed a substantial increase this year,” he said, “and although the reimposition of controls on projects exceeding £30.000 may release some labour for cottage building, any relief will necessarily be temporary and will certainly be followed by even more acute shortages when control is removed.” The extent to which labour shortages had contributed to increased costs and inflatior he said, had never been fully assessed.

Since April, 1963, job vacancies had increased from 12,834 to 18,938. A short survey conducted by the federation had indicated that in general a substantial unsatisfied demand existed for both skilled and unskilled labour. In consultation with other national bodies, the federation was conducting research into current immigration policies, and submissions would soon be made to the Government.