MANUFACTURERS’ FUTURE

Evening Star, Issue 26029, 18 February 1947, Page 4

MANUFACTURERS’ FUTURE

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS TO FEDERATION MUCH LEEWAY TO MAKE UP FACTORS IN PARTIAL FAILURE (Special.) WELLINGTON. Feb. 18. “ There is much ground yet to be covered before the full leeway between supply and demand and money and goods is made up,” said Mr W. J. Truscott in his presidential address to the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation to-day. “ That fact carries with it the question, why is it that money is still ahead of the productive race? We have a bigger industrial machine than that with which we entered the war in 1939. We have in many cases increased our efficiency as the result of war-time experience. Surely these two factors alone should have put us well on our way. “ Obvious explanatory factors of our partial failure include the shortage of man power, or where it is not Bhort in twenties and hundreds, where that available is largely untrained through absence in the forces or through replacement from the same basic reason. Then there are shortages of many raw materials, or at least spasmodic and fluctuating supplies. This shortage of basic raw materials has been one of our most serious problems, and unfortunately promises to be even more serious for at least another 18 months. It has also accounted for our inability in some direction to improve quality or reduce price. Power and fuel are short, and one or the other has often been responsible for plant shut-downs and production losses. In some cases replacement of war-torn plant has been impossible for a variety of causes. Buildings, too, are often anything but conducive to the most efficient production, and remedial measures are palpably impossible, or only piece-meal under existing conditions. Over and above these physical factors are certain legislative brakes on production, mainly too much internal and overseas control. I refer particularly to some aspects of price control which result in manufacturers being forced on to the production of lines which are not in direct need, because the margin allowed on some essential lines is insufficient. Such impediments in the production of essential goods should be removed without delay. “ Drastic though the total effect of these factors is oil production, I feel that their sum is only partially responsible for the slowness with which the gap between spending power and productive power is being closed. We are not getting the full productive potential from our productive equipment, both human and material. “ To-day there is a confusion of cries for a fairer or more equitable distribution of goods and profits, for sufficient purchasing power for ail groups, for decreased working hours, and so On. Production, the most important thing of all, is often forgotten, or, if not forgotten, is engulfed by these other demands, which are often made independent of the contribu-. tion of the individual or the group to the pool of products available. “ New Zealanders are right in seeking a high standard of living, a fair distribution of goods and profit and sufficient purchasing power, but all these things depend upon the production of goods and services. What is the use of banked-up purchasing power if there is nothing to buy? There is only one way to get rid of shortages, including housing, clothing, fuel and power, transport facilities, and other scarcities big and small—partly the legacy Of the wasteful war years—and that is to work and produce. “We • must produce to prosper. There can be no high wages, no profits, no improved standard of living, no social security, no leisure hours without production. “ With a full appreciation of the position and an acceptance of the responsibility which is theirs, our Prime Minister and other Ministers of the Crown state in no uncertain terms that increased production is essential jf we hope to maintain our present living standards, our social, security, etc., but how many seriously heed their warnings and pleas? PENDULUM HAS SWUNG TOO WIDE. The war was, of course, partly responsible, but our troubles date back in part, I think, to the time when our workers were very rightly told that they were entitled to, and would receive, an increased share of the products of their labour, together with shorter working hours, increased leisure time, and social security. “ But human nature, ever true to form, has forced the pendulum too far, and our whole economic structure is threatened. I, as the official mouthpiece of New Zealand manufacturers, who are directly and indirectly responsible for the employment and welfare of a very large percentage of our people, feel myself moved by a deep sense of obligation to my country and my fellow-men to very reluctantly give public expression to my own convictions regarding the growing cancer of industrial unrest, which if allowed to go unchecked will ultimately set us back years and bring suffering and misery, particularly to our children, who do not deserve it. “ It will be a sad day for this country and its people when, to pacify any section of the community, either temporarily or permanently, we take the easy road of ignoring the rulings of our constitutionally-appointed courts and allow those who by their agitation would seek to depart from the fundamentals of our democratic Constitution to surely lead us into a state of chaos and ultimately anarchy. “ What can we as manufacturers and employers do to avoid this calamity? In my opinion, we should strive hard, despite setbacks and disappointments, to further improve our employer-employee relationships, and within our own organisations endeavour to create incentives to all employees to produce to the maximum. Most of you know that I have for years been a strong advocate of profit sharing in one form or another, and yet 1 confess to being confronted with many difficulties in its application under today’s conditions of stabilisation laws and shortages, and/or irregularities of supply of the necessary raw materials hold-ups on account of shipping and wharf troubles, etc. Such difficulties which I hope are of a temporary nature, have not shaken my confidence in the fact that some form of profitsharing is the final answer to many of our problems.”