FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23965, 15 May 1941, Page 10

FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY

EFFICIENCY PLAN VOTE

MINISTER GIVES FIGURES [by TEI.KGRAITI—T'KKSS association*"! WF.LLINOTOX, Wednesday The Minister of Industries and Com, merce, tiie Hon. D. G. Sullivan, 6 aya the statement of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. S. G. Holland, made in the press yesterday on the footwear industry certainly did not tend to help the war effort.

"He «ttn<-ks rnv statement announcing the formation of an industrial committee consisting of representatives of the State, and of principals and em, ployees of the industry, and challenge ine to answer a series of questions, the implication being that the plan was not carried hv a majority of those engaged in the industry," said the Minister. "Of those who voted 29 principals (or 55 per cent) out of 53 favoured the plan, and on an employee basis, 2263 (or 53 per cent) out of 4471 workers in the whole industry voted in favour of the plan. There are 73 principals engaged in the industry and there were 20 non-voters whose employees totalled 197. Therefore. 1 was legally entitled to recommend to the Government that the plan be implemented by regulations, even although the majority was slender and on an employee basis. "An industrial committee has already begun to function and this committee is thoroughly representative of all sections of the industry. Some leading and respected firms who opposed the plan, accepted in the best possible spirit the decisi-. 'i to proceed with it, and have promised their full co-operation."