BRITAIN’S REARMAMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23332, 26 October 1937, Page 8

BRITAIN’S REARMAMENT

GREAT BENEFIT TO INDUSTRY ~ / DEARTH OF SKILLED LABOUR (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, Oct. 25. Practically every British industry is benefiting from the country’s rearmament programme, according to Mr H. Drummond Black, a London business man, who arrived from Sydney by the Awatea. Mr Black said it would be impossible to estimate how many workers were indirectly or even directly affected, but the number would reach many hundreds of thousands. Embarkation on the programme had resulted in a dearth of skilled labour in nearly every industry, he said. •Skilled men were keenly sought after and were offered high wages. “Any man skilled at his job can command rates of pay out 6f all proportion to the fixed rates.” he added. , A remarkable feature about the armament programme was the tremendous amount of building activity which was involved, Mr Black said. In addition to such work as enlarging the present armament factories, constructing auxiliary aerodromes and providing further accommoda--tion for troops, the plan had resulted in the erection of many entirely new factories. Many of these were being built in depressed areas, including South Wales, Lancashire and Newcastle.