STATE BUILDING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23101, 28 July 1938, Page 18

STATE BUILDING

LAVISH PROGBAMME LABOUR SCARCITY CAUSED COSTS FORCED UPWARDS Criticism of tho large programme of public buildiiijjc launched l).v the Government, which is seriously retarding house building, was made !).v architects yesterday. I'liey expressed (lie view that | the programme now emphasised in the Public Works estimates was infonsiiyintr the shortage of skilled labour, | which in turn was contributing sub- j stantinlly to the rise in building costs. | "Because of the demand for earpen- j tors, men are being employed as journoymeu who have never served their | appenticeship, " said one architect. Inefficient labour is affecting not only the quality of the wrtrk, but the output. The efficient tradesman trained in maintaining a steady pace and interested in his work is putting out a satisfactory output for a -10-hour week, hut the average carpenter on many jobs to-day is producing an-output equivalent to a .'i;j-hotir week. I his is a factor that has to he taken into consideration when work is being costed. "Were labour efficient and working to proper capacity, building costs would bo much lower and much more private building of dwelling-houses would bo undertaken." Another man pointod out that office building by the Government was a substantial reason for the all-round searcitv of tradesmen. It was diflicult To obtain both plumbers and plasterers. The Government's housing scheme was being seriously adopted by the position. Men were being employed on Stato housing who had never been trained and who on starting had no proper kits of tools. lie knew, for example, of two men whose previous experience was confined to rough carpentry on a farm. The need for houses was so great ill New Zealand that the Government should not do anything to retard this form of building by its policy of lavish oflieo construction. It was perhaps not generally appreciated that oven including Stato houses thn number of dwellings constructed in the Dominion in tho past financial year was much less than tho numbers in several other prosperous years since the war. The situation ob- | viously called for encouragement rather than discouragement of private house building.