RAISING THE WAR EFFORT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23840, 16 December 1940, Page 6

RAISING THE WAR EFFORT

The call for increased effort in civilian occupations has been frequently made by Ministers, but the Government hesitates to transform an emotional appeal into practical operation. It is manifest that greater production of essential things demands reorganisation of the diminished supply of labour and that, at least in mechanised industries, greater effort must include longer hours of work. Months ago, the Government took power by regulations to vary the terms of awards, and no objection was raised against the prospect of substantial modification of established conditions. With manifestly good intentions, the Government delegated the application of those regulations to a joint council of industrial representatives, but neither the Government nor the Industrial Emergency Council has announced a general policy of either variations or safeguards for the restoration of peacetime standards. In practice, the responsibility for any major change in award conditions falls upon the workers' representatives. Probably any union which offered to work longer hours without extra pay for the duration of the war would be applauded by other unions, and its example would be enthusiastically followed. It is, however, unreasonable to expect unions to lie bold while the Government hesitates to lead the way. Union officials are driven to expressions of unconvincing indignation in defence of domestic privileges which workers would cheerfully subordinate to the war effort upon assurances that such concessions would be generally required. In Britain, methods have been found by which productive power has been enormously increased without prejudicing trade union principles and interests, and those methods could be adapted to the New Zealand situation with as quick and easy acceptance as the manhood of the Dominion submitted to conscription for military service. A conference between the national federations of employers and workers would probably be the best approach to agreement upon general principles, from which practical measures for increasing production could quickly be developed.