N.Z. At The Crossroads— Work Problem: Three Remedies Suggested

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 August 1948, Page 8

N.Z. At The Crossroads— Work Problem: Three Remedies Suggested

(By

“SPOTLIGHT”)

If it is admitted, as it surely must be, that shortage of labour in essential industries is one of the pressing problems now facing New Zealand, the obvious course is to take stock of the position and see what can be done to rectify it.

It is a simple statement of fact to say that both public and private work, urgently needed on the grounds of both convenience and economy, is being indefinitely postponed because of insufficient labour io carry it out. Minister’s Admissions

Mr Semple, in his annual Public Works Statement, 1947 said: “In relation to the urgency of many major works, the loss of manpower is very serious.” Referring to public buildings: “Consequent on the shortage of materials and- manpower, Government efforts have been considerably restricted.” Referring to hydro-elec-tricity: “Construction has been hampered extensively by present-day difficulties in obtaining suitable workmen and materials.” _ Referring to highways: “With the limitations on material and manpower it has not been possible to embark on any extensive bridging or construction programme. Road construction has been on a modest scale, the limits having been dictated largely by available manpower.” So it goes on. Private individuals suffer along with the State. The man who has difficulty in buying timber for some trifling repair round his home is inconvenienced because the timber industry cannot attract all the labour it requires. The farmer in the backcountry sees the work of a lifetime undone because scrub-cutting cannot be carried out. Is it because we have a smaller working population? According to the National Employment Service, the total labour force (male and female, including owners of businesses) ■ is 727,374. It is not easy to get. a comparable figure for earlier years, but the Year Book gives the total number of wage-earners (male and female) in 1936 as just under 500.000. It is apparent, that there has been no decline—rather the contrary, for today’s high costs, and the ease of obtaining employment, have been instrumental in recruiting an abnormal number of female workers to swell the total.

Causes Of Shortage Then why the labour shortage? The explanation must be sought in the reactions to economic changes in reduced working hours, reduced output, and maldistribution of the labour force- . ... The 40-hour week by itself is not the full answer. Many industries, notably the timber industry, consistently work longer than 40 hours; and it was recently noted in Auckland that when the weekly hours in a rubber mill were reduced to 40, there was an immediate outcry from the workers concerned, who complained that they had worked longer hours for so long that the loss of overtime was equivalent to a severe wage-cut. Gf greater significance is the new psychology of the times. Advocates of the 40-hour week used to argue that a higher rate of work would be done in a shorter period. Generally speaking, such predictions have not been borne out. There is an overall decline, clearly reflected in the time now taken to do specific jobs. An example that may be cited is the time taken to paint a large school in Hawke’s Bay. The same contractor, doing the same job in 1938 and 1947, found that his men took about 10 per cent more man-hours to do the job. Work Rate Declines

In some work, such as bridge-build-ing, the post-war rate is barely half the pre-war rate. A bridge recently completed in North Auckland took about three years to build. Normally it would have been built in eighteen months. Two major bridge jobs now being' carried out in the North Island are, by former standards, merely dawdling towards completion. The problems of the contractors are many. Transport is difficult. The struggle for materials is endless. Holidays cause long shut-downs. There is also a casual, indifferent, spirit among the men, shown in a resentful attitude towards correction and discipline. The trouble is not so much with the skilled craftsman as with skilled labour. Here the underlying cause may be readily assigned. A policy which has created at least 23,000 more jobs than there are workers to fill them could hardly be expected to promote a high standard of effort. Call Of The Factories

Turning now to maldistribution, we may note first of all that according to recent official statistics the number of male factory workers in 1946-47 had increased by 81 per cent over the previous year. As the total was 100,577, this means that during the year 8500 men were drawn from other occupa-

tions, Among them. no. doubt, some of the 200 recnutect country districts by the Weiimgton C Council for urgent sweet whom 'only 40 remained at the enu ui nine months. . „„,r, o tina Not only are the industries c°^P e \ ° with other employment. They are al. competing . with each otnei. Schem to attract labour from one mdustiyto another will not improve the t position.” wrote Mi’ F. P- WaLn. But they still continue. ,:„„ r i n nt A current example of redumlant effort is the building of oil tanks: ac Auckland and Lyttelton for Government-sponsored oil cOIT ?P At Auckland, where there were nlieaay 39 tanks, giving storage in excels ux requirements, an additional 13 aie being built. Lyttelton's 28 tanks aie to be supplemented by nine more, both steel and labour are critically short! New industries still spring up, even as some of the existing, ones, raised m an economic hothouse, feel lor tiie nmi time the wintry current of competitive imports. Untroubled by such di sa E rea ’ able intrusions, industries sheltered by the licensing system continue to bi.t merrily for labour, and will sooty be formidably reinforced by the new t-yre factories. . To these rather artificial factors must be added the demands of the civil service. In 15 years, 1921 to 1936 the number of civil servants increased by 13,927. In the next ten years, 1936-45, the increase was 42,958. Here, as in tne new industries, much labour has been absorbed. . Leaving aside the harsher metnoas of adjustment, which may merely await the logic of events, there appear to be but three avenues open: First, to work longer hours; second, to work harder; third, to have more workers.

Immigration Issue The first solution involves contentious political questions which the public must determine in their own good time and in the light of personal experience; the second, when it comes, will be dictated by necessity. rather than persuasion; the third brings up the question of immigration. New Zealand’s present immigration policy is timorous and half-hearted. It compares poorly with the vigorous Australian scheme, for which 21 ships have been chartered to bring new citizens to the Commonwealth. Australia’s objective is 70,000 new settlers per year. New Zealand’s figures for the two years ending February. 1948, are:—Permanent arrivals 17,162, permanent departures 11,417,' net gain 5,745 only. For a country where a substantially increased population is absolutely vital, this feeble effort is deplorable. Are we to acquiesce in. a static population with the consequent disabilities now plain for all to see? If so. the prospect of maintaining our standard of living, to say nothing of over-coming our present difficulties, is indeed a bleak one.