CONTROL OF LABOUR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 24 January 1942, Page 2

CONTROL OF LABOUR

NEW REGULATIONS CRITICISED BY BUILDING* TRADES FEDERATION Wellington, This Day. “The new regulations affecting labour were the subject of discussion at the meeting of the national executive' of the New Zealand Building Trades Federation on Thursday night,” said a statement by Mr W. McAra, acting- 1 national secretary. “The regulations. are viewed with considerable concern by the national executive, which feels that this method of attempting to increase production is wrong and futile; in fact, its imposition is likely to give quite the opposite to the desired results. “The New Zealand Building Trades Federation views the matter of increased production as one of organising the full resources of labour, materials and equipment in those industrial activities which will produce first, the maximum provision for defence and protection of the civilian ■ population, and. secondly, the maximum production of goods essential to the people “This involves conscious planning, which, in turn, necessitates a thorough order that waste and comparatively non-essential effort may be eliminated. “These fundamentals have been strongly advocated by the federation, which last year submitted a comprehensive plan for co-ordinating activity to the Government. According to this plan for the building industry the effective use of manpower and material resources would be directed to meeting first needs first. The adoption of these proposals would enable the workers’ initiative to be realised and applied to efficient purposeful production, and would remedy the waste that to-day neutralise effort and engenders in many workers a feeling of frustration. The present position calls urgently not for limiting the workers’ initiative, but for purposeful planning and a rapid expansion of workers’ representation in the control of industrial activity.”—P.A.