BOOT INDUSTRY

Southland Times, Issue 23335, 20 October 1937, Page 5

BOOT INDUSTRY

MINISTER VISITS FACTORIES SUDDEN FALLING OFF IN ORDERS (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, October 19. A depressing picture of conditions in the boot-manufacturing industry in Christchurch was presented to the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) this morning when he visited two of the leading factories. The object of the Minister’s visit was to see at first hand the difficulties confronting the industry, in order to try and get at the root of the cause of the trouble. He explained that the Government wanted to be sure that any steps it took to assist the industry were the right ones. The present slackness in the trade, the Minister was told by the principals of firms, had developed very suddenly. They were at a loss to account for such a sudden falling off in orders, but they did know that imports, particularly from Britain, had increased very substantially. The manager of one factory said he thought his concern would be able to weather the storm, but today 60 men and 15 women had been stood off for a day, and tomorrow 20 men and 30 women would be off for a day. In another factory the amount paid out in weekly wages had dropped by £7O a week. “Our employees are losing wages and we are losing the value of their production,” the manager remarked. It was impressed on the Minister that the conditions today were much worse than they had been during the depression years, as orders were not coming in and stocks were accumulating. A manager mentioned the case of a man who had asked to be dismissed because he would do better drawing sustenance than working such short time at a factory. r The Minister was much impressed with what he saw, and remarked that the Government had the problem under consideration. REQUEST FOR PUBLIC STATEMENT MINISTER’S UTTERANCES CHALLENGED (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 19. The serious position of the bootmanufacturing industry in the Dominion was mentioned in the House of Representatives today, when notice of a question was given by Mr S. G. Holland (Nat., Christchurch North) drawing attention to a statement made last Thursday by the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) that the industry was at the peak of production. v Mr Holland asked whether the statement by Mr Armstrong, and also an assertion that the boot manufacturers were employing the highest number of hands in their history,- was in accord with information in the possession of the Minister of Industries and Commerce (the Hon. D. G. Sullivan). . , „ „ , Mr Holland asked whether Mr Sullivan would make “a true public statement of the whole position,” and have such a statement cabled to Australia, so that any wrong impression that might have been created by the Minister of Labour would be rectified and the people of Australia “made aware of the correct position of the, local manufacturers of footwear in New Zealand before next Saturday, on which date certain elections occur in Australia.”