JUVENILE LABOUR.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13277, 17 January 1911, Page 4

JUVENILE LABOUR.

From all over the Dominion- come complaints of the scarcity of juvenile labour, while local manufacturers in- several of the cities also say that adult labour is hard to obtain. The .woollen mills especially are feeling the pinch, and the industry is seriously interfered with by reason of the difficulty experienced in procuring a sufficient number of female Operatives to keep the machines going. The utiuculty has been felt keenly in Canterbury, and air endeavours to 'secure an adequate number of operatives to work the mills have failed. “The position is getting worse and wohse,” declared Mr P. Hercus, manager of ■ the. Kaiapoi • Woollen Company, to a Christchurch Press representative last week. “I really don’t knowwhore the girls are. Certainly none are offering for our work. Our company has been adveytjsing . all over New Zealand for hands, but -we can’t get them,_ and other companies are in the same position. A very large Government contract is offering just now for the manufacture of uniforms for the railway staffs of the Dominion, but we can’t even think of tendering for this work, for we. have got no labour available to carry it out. That means that in respect of that one contract alone Christchurch will lose the benefit of that particular expenditure of public .money, We have suggested the, importation of girls from England, but at present it is possible only to import domestic servants and farm hands, and the Government will not hear of any proposal to import girls for service in the woollen mills. We are quite prepared to guarantee employment for three years to as many experienced workers as we want. We could do with 50 coat hands immediately, as well as many for other departments. We have advertised exten sively lately, hut with almost barren results. The loss of girls by marriage this Christmas has been unusually heavy, and we cannot get others to fill the vacancies.” ' Duhedin complaints are daily coming to hand about non-delivery of orders, but manufacturers are powerless, as they cannot obtain more hands. As the result thousands of pounds’ worth of goods are being indented from Home which would profitably be made in New Zealand were labour available. Numerous causes are stated for the shortage. One explanation is the falling away in the number of boys and girls available qt an age which it is legal for them to commence work. Many young people nowadays look for office work for employment. The scarcity of hands is also severely felt in the unskilled trades. , -