MANY HANDS PUT OFF

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 74, 21 December 1937, Page 12

MANY HANDS PUT OFF

Boot Factory Employees In

Christchurch

200 AFFECTED IN ONE FIRM

c By Telegraph—Press Association.

Christchurch, December 20.

Large numbers of Christchurch boot factory employees have been put olf work in the last fortnight. The reason for this action was given to-day as a falling off in orders, attributed partly to the effects of recent legislation and partly to increased imports. It was denied that the action was dictated by a desire to avoid paying for holidays. Two hundred employees of Sucklings Ltd., boot manufacturers, have been put off in the last fortnight because of decreasing orders, according to Mr. J. A. East, managing director of the firm. He hoped that the position would improve sufficiently in the next month to enable them to be re-engaged.

“The position is that for the first time in seven years we have had to put off hands before Christmas,” said Mr. East. “We have put off 200, starting a fortnight ago. For the last seven years we have worked right up to Christmas Eve and started again on January 3 or January 4, working full time. This year we are not able to do that and have had to dismiss hands. We feel that we have to put them off for at least a month. “I don’t know that the falling off in business, is wholly due to the recent legislation. It may be that, taken together with the effect of increased imports. It is possible that another contributing factor is that retailers and the public also over-bought when prices began to rise. The fact remains that the demand is not there any more.”