HOURS OF LABOUR

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 74, 29 March 1939, Page 13

HOURS OF LABOUR

IN BUILDING TRADE

NO INCREASE INTENDED

A declaration that the Government did not intend to take any action to increase hours of labour was made by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) last night in reply to the suggestion of the Leader of the Opposition (the Hon. Adam Hamilton) that hours of work in the building industry should be extended to 44 a week in order to ease the housing situation.

Mr. Savage said that there would be more houses built in New Zealand in the next twelve months than ever before in a similar period. "The Government realises its obligations so far as housing is' concerned," said Mr. Savage. "We have a better organisation than has ever existed in the history of this country. We are not satisfied any more than Mr. Hamilton is with the number of houses built. The Government has made tremendous progress in providing homes for the people, but not enough to overtake the arrears.. Perhaps Mr. Hamilton can search his own conscience and see what part he and his colleagues have played in this connection.

"There are arrears in every class of building, including schools and teachers' residences. What can be more important than the provision of these, for schools and teachers' residences come a good second in importance after dwellings. It is in the dwelling that the child is born in the main, and in the school that his mind is moulded. Public buildings have also been allowed to' fall into arrears to such an extent that we have not enough of them for the country's requirements."

Mr. Savage said that in order to speed up building construction the Government had had no alternative but to go to other lands to obtain men. It was not possible to train men fast enough to overtake arrears. It was worth while asking Mr. Hamilton what part he and others associated with him had played in bringing about the present state of affairs.

"Mr. Hamilton seems to be worried more about increasing hours of labour than anything else," said Mr. Savage. "Well, we are not going to increase hours of labour. Under abnormal conditions we will make the best arrangements possible. The men engaged on the construction of the. Social Security building agreed to work under certain conditions because of the special circumstances that prevailed. To think about taking advantage of the present situation to increase hours of labour is to think about something that is not going to happen."