MANPOWER CONTROL

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 January 1942, Page 3

MANPOWER CONTROL

GREY DISTRICT APPOINTMENT. Mr C. B. Rawlins, District Inspector of Factories, at Greymouth, has been appointed district manpower officer, under the recently gazetted National Service Emergency Regulations. Under his new appointment, Mr Rawlins will be responsible for the control of the distribution of labour in the essential industries. Under the regulations, no worker can leave employment in an industry declared to be essential and no worker’s employment in such an industry can be terminated without the consent of the district manpower officer, and seven days’ notice of intention to take such a step must be given. All appeals under the regulations are to be made to the district manpower officer,.and it is only when his decision is considered wrong that an appeal can be made to the Manpower Committee, and it must be lodged within seven days of the decision. The principal conditions laid down under the regulations are as follow: An employer may not terminate the employment of any worker (except in the case of grave misconduct) without the consent in writing of the district manpower officer. No worker in an essential industry can terminate his employment without the consent of, and after giving seven days’ notice to, the district manpower officer. If the grounds of dismissal are considered by the district manpower officer to be insufficient, he may require any worker to be reinstated. Under the regulations, workers are also .required to do any work of which they are capable during any period in which they are not engaged on their normal work. In such cases workers must receive not less than their normal wages. If a worker is required to transfer to work at a higher rate of pay, he must receive the higher rate. Absence from work without reasonable excuse, persistent lateness, failure to work, diligently, failure to exercise proper skill and care, are offences against the regulations.