LABOUR SURVEY

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31922, 25 February 1969, Page 6

LABOUR SURVEY

Turnover Problem

Labour turnover was con-•' sidered a problem in 113 of! 532 firms in 44 industry | groups, according to a survey ' carried out by the Depart- ■ ment of Labour for the i National Development Conference, says the February issue of the Labour and Employment Gazette. The firms surveyed were asked whether they had experienced a labour turnover problem. Firms were asked to suggest ways to alleviate any problem. The gazette says the survey result may have been somewhat subjective, as the amount of turnover considered to constitute a problem in some firths may be considered by others to be a normal and expected rate. Nevertheless it appeared that a high rate of labour turnover was causing concern to approximately one-fifth of the firms included in the survey. There was a marked tendency among employers who experienced a high rate of labour turnover in their firm to attribute this solely to the attitude of their workers. However, those firms which had successfully reduced their labour turnover often found that it was largely a management problem, and that more effective management, together with the better industrial relations that this created, was of considerable benefit. The gaaette also said that labour turnover rates dropped from their post-war / record rates of 23 per cent for males and 36 per cent for females during the six months of boom employment ended April, 1966, to 16 per cent for males and 26 per cent for females in the six months to October, 1968, the lowest rate recorded in the last 15 years.