WORKERS DEFENDED

Southland Times, Issue 24460, 13 June 1941, Page 4

WORKERS DEFENDED

CONTRIBUTION TO WAR EFFORT

(Special) WELLINGTON June 12. No part of the British Empire had made the same contribution in the way of working extended hours without payment of overtime as had New Zealand, the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, said in the House of Representatives tonight when making a general defence of the workers. A number of industries were working extra hours at ordinary rates of pay, he said. Overtime was being paid to workers in Britain for extra hours. Mr W. J. Polson (Nat., Stratford) criticized the attitude of the Minister of Labour and said the need was for a man in that office with more sympathy with getting work done. Replying, Mr Webb said the working people of this country had never worked harder than at present, and he defended the operations of the Industrial Emergency Council in extending hours of work where necessary in the interest of the war effort. The watersiders had been stigmatized as if they were not fit to have a place on the face of the earth. It was true that some men were not fit to be on the waterfront, but they were very few, and he hoped they would not stay there. In many instances the watersiders were working 80 hours a week to turn ships around quickly. There were also few men in the mines with no sense of responsibility, but that might be said of other occupations, too. He took his hat off again to the miners for the work they were doing. The workers in factories and in industry and farmers had never worked more diligently, nor were they evei’ more conscious of their responsibilities than at the present time .