WOMEN ARE GREATER OFFENDERS THAN MEN

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23964, 3 June 1943, Page 4

WOMEN ARE GREATER OFFENDERS THAN MEN

ABSENTEEISM

Opinions differ on causes of absenteeism and its remedies, but manufacturers among whom inquiries have been made by a reporter are practically unanimous on a number or points. One is that younger women are predominant in the absentee ranks Another is that whatever the extent of absenteeism (a number of factories report comparative immunity), production delays in those factories or sections of industry suffering from continued absenteeism constitute a serious problem. A third point which has been emphasised is the difficulty of obtaining labour for overtime work. How absenteeism can cost hours was illustrated in figures given by Mr L. B. Miller, managing director of Millers, Ltd., who said that in the last eight weeks 8811 working hours had been lost, and that in the clothing factory employing about 310 (280 women) the average weekly absenteeism was about 18 per cent. These figures, he said, excluded, moreover, those absentees who provided medical certificates, and those away for less than four hours on any day. The problem was more marked after holidays, he said. The absentees were women, mainly young and more irresponsible, and a host of reasons for absences had been given. After Easter, for instance, two , girls due back on Tuesday had returned to work on the following Monday. They had been to Wellington and gave the reason for the delayed return: “The weather was so good we decided to stay on there.” The more flagrant cases had been reported, he said, bdt the only action taken had been recently, when three girls had been advised by the manpower authorities that they would be fined. That had had a steadying effect. The problem had a serious effect on production and schedules, for the fall-ing-off was considerable when absences caused a hold-up in the mass production system—proportionately greater than an 18 per cent, absenteeism would indicate. Production Down Quite apart from absenteeism, he said, production in some sections was down 50 per cent, on the pre-war level for the same number of employees and the same number of hours worked. Discussing cases within the canister industry, Mr B. J. Masters, manager of a city firm, said that in one firm, employing 100, absences had reached 16 per cent., while the figure on any given day through the week would be 6 per cent. Overtime hour absences had risen as high as 22 per cent, one night last week, and 26 per cent, another night, though no employee in the firm was asked or allowed to work more than a total of 52 hours in a week. Mr Masters said that in practically every section of the industry, schedules (the work being nearly all on Government contracts) were weeks behind, and the cause was mainly absenteeism. Though reasons given for absenteeism are legion, Mr Masters said that about 50 per cent, of absences were in his experience caused by genuine illness, ■and of the total of absentees about 12i per cent, stayed away for purely fickle reasons. Among reasons given to his know-ledge-valid reasons and capricious—were illness, funerals, home worries, sick relatives, bereavement, removals, private business, “staying home after a party,” and duck-shooting. He knew of one case of ah employee just leaving for good without a word. Allowances were usually made for a percentage of genuine absences, Mr Masters said, but this very fact made it the more imperative that capricious absences should be eliminated. He believed that in more flagrant cases more drastic penalties should be imposed, and that if given sufficient publicity the penalties would prove beneficial. That had already been the effect in Wellington. In the case of the firm with the absences quoted, he said, a committee comprising executive and employees’ appointees, which discussed and tried to meet the problems, had been functioning all through, moreover. Complaints that absenteeism was affecting production adversely were also made by one or two representatives of large Canterbury industries, who did net wish detailed information published meanwhile. Figures of different factories, however, vary considerably. A check was made by Aulsebrook and Company in 1939, from May 1 to October 31, and again in 1942. According to findings supplied by Mr R. H. V r ebb, the average weekly absences among women were 5.6 per cent, weekly in 1939, and 6.69 per cent, in 1942, the corresponding figures for men being 1.97 per cent, in 1939 and 2.34 in 1942. The figures are comparatively low, especially considering that they were compiled over the winter months. The highest percentage of absenteeism was 10.66 (among the women workers) for the week ended May 27, 1942. The factory employs about 400, comprising from 170 to 200 men and 200 to 250 women. Trouble Not Rife Emphasising that /absenteeism was not what he would call rife in the engineering industry in Canterbury today, Mr T. H. Lawn, president of the New Zealand Implement Manufacturers’ Federation, said that difficulties attendant on the absorption of a number

of new men had. by now largely bean overcome with the gradual sortminanf and settling down of the men Hi* firm, and others of which he knew em ployed fairly few women, and though the absenteeism in the women’s tion would be from 10 to 20 per cent week by week, it was “regarded philosophically,” as the work wai heavy and fairly monotonous and re. presented for the women concerned only a war job and not the type 0 ( work most would like for a long period of years. Mr Lawn said that absence* were generally most noticeable after pay-day, and, apart from (genuine*, cases, there was a small percentage of absences fortrlviyt reasons, this smell section probably presenting persons continuing in th» work only through the state of the war-time labour market—those who would be disinclined to settle down ia work in time of either peace or war. Individual Problem Mr Lawn suggested that absenteeism was a problem requiring individual vestigation by an employer and re. spending to no universal remedy. Con. ditions under which employees worked in any factory formed one important point, however. A constant check On these could be kept through employees l welfare committees, which maintained contact with the employer and could keep him abreast of various under, currents of opinion on factors materiel or personal which might be disruptia| harmony. Some complaints had arisen in the industry, Mr Lawn said, over the man. ber of men and women allowed to leave in the last 12-months because of medical certificates. While 20 per cent, absences have been reported from footwear factories in Auckland, Christchurch factories, according to Mr J. A. East (lastyear’i president of the New Zealand Foot* wear Manufacturers’ Federation), lave not much more absenteeism to«day than in ordinary times, and most absences are from genuine causes. Women are in the majority in whet absences there are. There had, he said, t been some trouble from a certain amount of “permanent lateness." Several new angles on the absentee problem and remedial measures were given by Mr H. C. Urlwin, another member of the association. - Mr Urlwin said that it was true thit the majority of women and girls preferred to work a 40-hour week, add did so, and did not want to- work longer, for when overtime was offered to them they did not turn up. That did not necessarily condemn them, ij might be that a large percentage ware married women who considered that. 40 hours were as much as they could spare because of the demands of hOmi or families. With young girls, the trouble appeared to be money—whatever the explanation, some person! tonarently limited their earnings and, the. girls appeared satisfied to earn £2 or £3 a week and did not want to . eafn more. “The soldier coming home on leave" and so forth was not in his opinion the cause of absenteeism among girls, as the girl who was the soldier^-wife, fiancee or future fiancee had a large bump of responsibility (In hi* dm, the girls were encouraged to ask; for permission for a few days off in such ’ cases). , - ' Overtime Experiment ' Mr Urlwin said that his firm had applied one rule (which he said had been effective). It was that before working overtime, the employee must have worked the full five eight, hour days, and even absences caused by illness were embraced in. the rule, his attitude being that a person who had just been away ill should not, for her health’s sake, be working overtime. The course had largely overcome what had been a big bugbearemployees staying away on Friday afternoons and working on Saturday . mornings instead, but at overtime ratei 1 Previously, he said, the firm used Wgsl offer rewards. Names of those work-*! ing overtime were put in a hat,; the employee whose name was drawn first) I receiving £l. The second prize was 10s. At the end of the month names of those who had worked the mwl* •mum possible hours (that was, .without absences) were put in a hat. the stake being £5. Neither scheme had appeared to make much difference, and after a few months they had . beep dropped. ' *4 On certain emergency occasions the firm .obtained 100 per cent, attendances always, on a few occasions when week-end work had been necessary dn certain essential production. Employees had just been told, that the work was requested by the munitions authorities and all had reported back. Mr Urlwin said that he did not plate' much store in declaring an undertaking essential or in directions to industry. When compulsion started absenteeism arose. Similarly he did not'"think talk of more stringency in penalties, effective. He did not think the average employee much afraid of. penalties because the employees knew how hard, it would be to apply penalties eqult*. ably. Actual reporting depended ott the employer, and unless the Govern* ment made reporting of absentees Compulsory he could not see the system working out. Mr Urlwin said that in general be deprecated “all this moaning” about absenteeism, as he thought much of thf remedy lay with employers themselves,