TOO FEW CARPENTERS

Taranaki Daily News, 19 June 1937, Page 9

TOO FEW CARPENTERS

By Telegraph—Press Association.

i POSITION IN DOMINION EFFECT OF BUILDING INCREASE. SERVICES HARD TO OBTAIN. CONCERN OF THE' GOVERNMENT.

Auckland, Last Night. ;■ The fact that tliere is - at , present . a serious shortage of carpenters in New Zealand was revealed by Mr. J. A. Lee, Parliamentary /Under-Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Housipg, in a telephone interview- with tlie New Zealand Herald to-night. The statement had been made at Auckland that there are 200 imemployed carpenters in the city,. Mr. Lee said. A building firm at Auckland rccently asked , those responsible for .making - the statement to.provide 20 carpenters. for whom steady and remunerative work would be imade available. :Actually.;the services of only 13 men could, be obtained. • .. It : appeared very likely that Uie shortage of . biiilders'/ would assume .serious proportions m the near future, said Mr. Lee. There ./as a definite shortage al-. ready and as, the number of Government housing contracts increased. ffie. problem would become ;even more.. serious. The Government was deeply concerned at.the position and it might be necessary to consider whether. or notrsteps should be taken 'to relieve the shortage. , , "It is fairly obvious,'' added Mr.. Lee,. "that when certain people get hysterical over the fact that an advertisemeht was issued for 20 joiners in Scotland for work in New Zealand they can have no real conception of the situatioii ,as it exists in the Dominion. There has been extraordinary. progress in public building in the last few months and I gather that a eonsiderable programme of ordinary • commercial building is likely to be undertaken inv the near future. For all these operations labour will be,required. It is something, at any rate, to feel that there is such an expansion in the building trade that there are now reasonable opportunities for young men in that particular class of occupation."