ESSENTIAL WORK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 117, 20 May 1942, Page 8

ESSENTIAL WORK

SERVICES OF WOMEN

AVOIDANCE OF HARDSHIP

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, Tuesday.

A statement which he had- obtained from the Director of National Service. Mr. J. S. Hunter, on the Government's policy in utilising the services of women in the war effort was read to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce to-night by Mr. R. H. Nimmo.

"The tremendous effects on industry of the withdrawal of manv thousands of men to fill the ranks'of the home forces has been felt throughout the whole working community." said Mr. Hunter. 'Among industries which have suffered heavily by the loss of men have been many engaged in maintaining services of fundamental importance to the continued industrial life of the community, such, for example, as the transport services, power supply and other similar industries. These industries must, however, go on and the personnel taken from them and drafted into the forces must be replaced, wherever possible, by the drafting in of women.

"It is for this purpose that the Government's recent action was taken to register and direct women into essential work and into the services themselves. It is obvious that the women so directed have had to be taken from somewhere and it has been inevitable that some activities in the community have had to put tip with the loss, not only of men to the forces, but also of girls to carry on basic industries in the absence of other men who have also been drafted into the forces.

"As you are no doubt aware, the administrative machinery which has been set up to give effect to this redistribution of female labour has been operated through the district manpower officers located at all the main centres in the Dominion. While these officers are given wide discretion in the selection of girls for direction into essential work, there are certain definite principles which have been laid down for their guidance.

"For example, the direction of young girls into distant work awav from their homes has been avoided wherever possible. Again, volunteers are invariably given precedence and compulsion has been insisted on only where its exercise has been unavoidable. Nucleus staffs have been protected to some extent, even in non-essential firms, so that normal working can be quicklj' resumed after the war.

"While the public interest and the winning of the war are the overriding considerations which must be properly studied, yet genuine hardship and sacrifice are avoided whereever it is possible to do so."