MACHINES AND HOURS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 89, 12 October 1938, Page 21

MACHINES AND HOURS

CRIPPLING OVERHEAD

Though he does not advocate an increase in the weekly working hours, Mr. W. Appleton, National candidate for Wellington Central, is definitely of the opinion, he told his audience at the Webb Street Methodist Hall last night, that a system of rotation is essential if secondary industries are to pay their way and are to compete with imported goods. It was absurd, he said, that costly machinery, designed to be operated continuously, should be run only 40 hours a week. "Unless you go in for night work," he said, in reply to an interjection, "you are never going to get costs down."

Whatever claims Ministers of the Socialist Government might make as to the flourishing state of secondary industries, the fact was that except in certain sheltered industries, the outlook was blacker than even during the worst of the depression years. It might be contended that the position could be met by increasing the tariff, but that was much more difficult than the average person realised, and another complication was that payment for a large proportion of the primary products must be by way of importation of goods from Britain and overseas, and New Zealand could not hope to compete with imported goods if working conditions placed a severe handicap on the local manufacturer. "There is only one way, and that is to use our machinery to the utmost. The restrictive conditions of the 40-hour week will have to go. Not that it will be necessary to work more than 40 hours, or to reduce wages, but the plant and machinery should be capable of being worked 100 hours a week if need be."

The facts of the difficulties in which secondary industry had been placed by the restrictive conditions were well known to the Bureau of Industries, he continued, but members of the Government had merely talked platitudes and had not taken any active : steps to remedy the situation. Specific examples of cases where industries had been seriously affected were cited, as the reduction in the number of hands in three industries in one centre' from June, 1937, to June, 1938: 506 to 376; 339 to 219; and 305 to 258. In another case a factory staff of 205 in April; 1937, was down to 137 in April last.

The meeting, which was presided over by Mr. M.. F. Luckie, filled the hall and gave the speaker a fully attentive hearing. A vote of thanks and confidence was^arried by acclamation.