FACTORY HANDS DISMISSED

Southland Times, Issue 23388, 21 December 1937, Page 6

FACTORY HANDS DISMISSED

FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY WITHOUT ORDERS

BLAME FOR LEGISLATION AND IMPORTS (United Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, December 20. Many Christchurch boot factory employees have been put off work in the last fortnight. The reason for this action was given today as being a falling off of orders attributed partly to the effects of recent legislation and partly to increased imports. It was denied that the action was dictated by a desire to avoid paying for the holidays- • , Two hundred employees of Sucklings Ltd., boot manufacturers, have been put off in the last fortnight because of decreasing orders, according to Mr J. A. East, managing director of the firm. He hoped that the position would improve sufficiently in the next month to enable them to be re-engaged. “The position is that for the first time in seven years we have had to put off hands before Christmas,” said Mr East. “We have put off 200, starting a fortnight ago. For the last seven years we have worked right up to Christmas Eve and started again on January 3 or January 4, working full time. This year we are not able to do that and have had to dismiss hands. We feel that we have to put them off for at least a month. I don’t know that the falling off in business is wholly due to recent legislation, but it may fie that together with the effect of increased imports. It is possible that another contributing factor is that retailers and the public also overbought when prices began to rise. The fact remains that the demand is not there any more.”