LABOUR SHORTAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25215, 30 May 1945, Page 8

LABOUR SHORTAGE

HABBOUR MAINTENANCE MEN DIRECTED ELSEWHERE Concern wa expressed by members at a meeting of the Auckland Harbour 1< Board yesterday when the engineer- c superintendent, Mr D. Holderness, res- i ported that the maintenance of harbour { facilities was becoming steadily more j difficult because of the continued direc- . tion of tradesmen and others by the manpower authorities to work else- - where, and by mobilisation for the < armed forces. An increasing amount of , maintenance work was accumulating , and provision would have to be made for an unusually high expenditure for some time after labour was available. "It is a difficulty everybody is suffering, but it seems that; for an organ- i isation conducting such an important , public service, we are suffering unreasonably heavily on account of the work ; of the manpower authorities,' said Mr Holderness, when asked by the chairman, Mr J. H. Frater, to elaborate on his report. Only a day or two before he wrote the report five of the board's most skilled carpenters —there were few enough.as it was —were directed to the, Karapiro hydro-electric scheme. He | realised the importance of making, .progress with that preference job, but it .Was exceedingly disquieting to have men who had spent years training on j the board's staff and knew the board s | •property directed elsewhere and to have, no knowledge of how many more would; be taken. .„ , , , , . . Mr Holderness said he had lodged appeals against the directions and the men had neen allowed to continue with tfhe board until the appeals were heard. It was quite definite that the board oo'uld not keep pace with maintaining its structures as should be expected when men were directed away, in such numbers. | "It will be very difficult if we have to go back on months of deterioration," said the chairman.