MANPOWER APPEALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 January 1944, Page 2

MANPOWER APPEALS

POLICY OF COMMITTEE

The policy adopted by the Christchurch Manpower Appeal Committee in determining the decisions on recent Greymouth appeals,, announ ed on Saturday is explained Chairman (Mr. K. G. Richer) n and several “P^ try b { tai^iDS t members ol the r oresrry uu §j ort h direction to timber mills m the Island In all of these appeals it was stressed by counsel thatt the Island frequently inv ° lve t J|/ ch a dis location of family and other-ties> tna it should not be resorted too except in extreme circumstances. It was fur ther pointed out, and the Committee agrees, that notwithstanding the urgency of certain work m the North Island, individual workers are still fully entitled to appeal against direction on the grounds ot personal hardship. In respect to the direction of women to work in the tobacco factory the Committee must accept the ruling df the Controller of Manpower that this work is of great urgency and importance in the interests of ma ing available an adequate supply ol cigarettes to the fighting forces. It is further evidence that as the Ma power Officer is restricted in his di rection to women betweenthe ag of 21 and 30 years and to women ch a high standard of ability, num ber of women, suitable lor direction from the Greymouth district is not large. The Committee sympathises with the appellants in all of th ® cases heard before it and agrees that m each case the appellants, whether the workers concerned or their employers, had adequate grounds to reiei their objections to the Committee. In ; view, however, of the im with which the work is regarded by the Controller of Manpower the ; Committee does not feel justified m allowing all of the appeals and it has been found neccessary to dismiss the . appeals of some of the workers, who, it is felt, may reasonably be called on to work for a reasonable period in Wellington in connection witn me war effort.

TIMBER INDUSTRY

•‘With regard to the men returned from the Forestry Unit,’’ continues the memorandum, “it is also clear that the Controller of Manpower considers that the timber industry m the North Island is of such importance as to justify the direction of timber workers from the West Coast. In all of the cases which came before us, however, there seem to be strong grounds for permitting the workers to remain in their present employment. The West Coast mills are urgently in need of timber workers and in several instances the workers concerned were occupying key positions whicn they held prior to going overseas. We were also satisfied by evidence that when these men returned to New Zealand they were informed by a responsible Minister of the Crown that married men would be permitted to return to their old jobs and would not be directed away from their homes. In each case where we have allowed an appeal the worker is a married man with his home on the West Coast or in the case of two of the workers a married man desirous of setting up a home on the West Coast for his English wife. W'e do not thing that, such men should be directed to work in the North Island without proper evidence as lo the urgency of the work to which they are directed and the facilities available for them to set up a home there. In each case the employer to whom the worker was directed received due notice of the appeal, but in no case was the/prospective employer represented at the hearing and only in one instance did the prospective employer do the Committee the courtesy of communicating by letter its requirements. In that case it was to advise the Committee that it had no vacancy for the worker who had been directed. These circumstances leave the Committee in considerable doubt as to whether the needs of the North Island mills in question are such as to justify the direction of married men from the West Coast and unless it is satisfied by proper evidence in this regard we are of opinion that the appeals are entitled to succeed. All the appeals of these married men have accordingly be allowed.”