INDUSTRIAL WELFARE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 258, 29 September 1936, Page 2

INDUSTRIAL WELFARE

GOVERNMENT’S BILL. MANUFACTURERS’ VIEW. Per Prefix Association. WELLINGTON, Sept. 28. A conference of representatives of the New Zealand Manufacturers’ Federation was held in Wellington last week to consider the Industrial Efficiency Bill subsequently brought forward by the Minister of Industries and Commerce. The representatives spent two days in an analysis of the Bill, a number of meetings between the federation and the Minister being necessary, and numerous improvements and safeguards were recommended to the Minister. Hon. D. G. Sullivan stated in the House on Friday that the manufacturers’ organisation endorsed the Bill “in principle,” but opposed the introduction of bureaucratic or public service control. This morning, Mr A. E. Mander, secretary of the Manufacturers’ Federation, confirmed this statement of the attitude of the federation. The principles of licensing, planning, and co-ordination of industries had been first endorsed by the Manufacturers’ Federation conference more than two years ago, and manufacturers had proposed legislation. In the manufacturers’ scheme it was intended that [lowers should be exercised jointly by representatives of the industries and representatives of the consumers without political or departmental control. The present Government’s Bill differed mainly in that the Minister was to be given supreme [lower, while it provided that the majority of the bureau should consist of departmental officials. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that the Government had ■ largely met the manufacturers’ objection to purely public service control, by agreeing to add to the bureau two permanent representatives of manufacturing industries generally and two temporary representatives of whatever industry was under contVeration.