THE WORKER'S OUTPUT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26719, 13 March 1948, Page 6

THE WORKER'S OUTPUT

A speaker at the Rotary Conference in Dunedin this week raised a topic of the greatest importance when he referred to “ the need for the reintroduction of higher standards in every-day affairs, particularly in the relation of the workman to his employment.” The old-time pride of the craftsman, he said, was, in many cases, replaced by “ hit-or-miss ” methods to-day. The trends to which the speaker referred are causing world-wide concern, and in America, for example, the reduction in output per man-hour has been described as a threat not only to the economy of the nation but to democracy itself. While the problem is not confined to New Zealand, it is a sad reflection that in this country relaxation in efficiency has been the workers’ response to greatly improved wages, hours of work, and conditions of employment. The psychology of workers in the mass is not always readily- understood, but it is common knowledge that the accession of Labour to power in 1935 was followed, in many cases, by an immediate drop in production. In contrast to this is the recent experience of a northern employer who dismissed . workers because he found it necessary to limit production. To his surprise, he found that with a much reduced staff his former production was maintained. The explanation was that the workers who remained, believing their jobs to be in peril, worked very much harder than before. In this example lies the main reason for the decline which has taken place in both efficiency and the extent of production. While labour is in short supply a proportion of workers, secure in their jobs or confident of alternative employment, will relax both in their standards and in volume of output. Unfortunately, while the legal machinery exists to force employers to pay a high scale of wages, no power exists to compel the employee to supply the equivalent return in labour. The employer can only await a time when a surplus of labour exists and workers as a whole will find it necessary to “ look after ” their jobs. A solution of the trend which is causing employers so much concern —and, incidentally, costing the consumer so much—lies largely in the hands of the unions. Unfortunately their conception of their function has been that they must wage a perpetual fight for better and better wages and conditions, even to the extent of frustrating the employer and impeding production. But,

having gone so far along this road, could they not now turn their attention to fostering craftsmanship and the general efficiency of the worker? The guilds of former times were compelled to take such measures to protect themselves not only financially but also against the inferior worker. Union membership would be worth something in this country if it carried with it some assurance of the ability of the worker and of his sense of responsibility. It would give a new dignity to labour, and for the country as a whole it would have incalculable benefits.