A BOTTLENECK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26229, 13 August 1946, Page 4

A BOTTLENECK

ENGINEERING TRADE GRAVE LACK OF MOULDERS A shortage of journeymen moulders and an apparent antipathy among youths towards being apprenticed to what they consider is a “dirty” trade are causing concern among ironmasters in the Dunedin area. The opinion that a bottleneck would be caused in the engineering industry through this dearth of moulders was advanced to a Daily Times reporter yesterday by an ironmaster, who said that moulders had been leaving the trade, sometimes for other occupations, and were not being replaced. Without moulders to' make the castings, he added, the engineers would not be able to continue.- The foundry was the feeder for the engineer’s shop. Journeymen Needed Journeymen of all kinds were needed in the iron trade, he added. There was a shortage of fitters, blacksmiths and turners, as well as of floor and machine moulders. The. shortage of tradesmen was, however, not altogether a disadvantage at present, as no shipments of pig iron had been landed in the South Island for some time, and if there were more tradesmen, there would not be enough materials with which to continue the work. Youths did not want to be apprenticed to moulding, he said, because they either considered it was a dirty trade or were persuaded into that view by others. The Hillside Workships had a full quota of apprentices, but he alleged that they were able to offer lads from £2 10s to £3 4s a week, whereas under the stabilisation regulations the private shopowner was limited to £1 11s 4d. “ I don’t know how they can pay it. They must be a law to themselves,” he added. “Trying to observe the stabilisation regulations doesn’t give the shopowner a chance to attract apprentices.” The Wages Question One ironmaster said that moulders had transferred from Dunedin to Invercargill shops, and others he knew were now working on the waterfront. He had applied to the Manpower Committee for fitters and turners while that committee was still operating, but had had none directed to his shop. Sometimes the work was completed when it left the foundry he added. If there were no moulders, that production would in due course be lost to the trade. As far as general work was concerned, many journeymen had shown a preference for rangemaking, as the floor moulder at times was required to do really hard work. He was not able to be recompensed for the difference in conditions under the stabilisation regulations. The only remedy was for employers to go beyond the law and pay rates higher than the regulations permitted.