THE PROBLEM OF MANPOWER

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 258, 30 July 1942, Page 4

THE PROBLEM OF MANPOWER

The task assigned to Mr. Polson in the War Administration, to direct the policy of primary production for war purposes, is one. of immediate importance, and naturally it involves the provision ot the necessary labour. In the latter respect the Minister s activities, and whatever plans he may have in mind, must inevitably trench upon the particular interests of other members of the Administration, and especially of those entrusted with the direction of the military side of the war effort. It is now evident that manpower is becoming, it indeed it has not already become, the most pressing problem, that confronts the country, and that it cannot be tackled satisfactorily in any sectional manner. There are limitations that, it is agreed,, cannot be removed. The manpower now available cannot be materially increased and the demand grows steadily. . Very valuable assistance can be obtained, however, by the greater use of women in both defence and civil operations, and the recruiting campaign that is being conducted deserves to succeed because of t ie need but the time must come when mobilization of the nation will have been completed. It will mean that priorities of employment in order of urgency will be more strictly enforced, and a much greatei degree of direction exercised, and that in itself will be no small task. But coincidently with' the progress toward this goal other activities might be usefully developed. . It has been stated in Great Britain, where national mobilization has gone much further than is the case here, that the next task is “to make the best possible use of the . men and women already mobilized.” It is not regarded as sufficient to say that the vast majority of the war workers are already at their stations. What must be ascertained is that they are at their right stations; at the places where they can do their best to meet the most,urgent requirements. The British Minister of Labour is said to have approved of a plan to move workers “from where stocks have piled up to the more urgent work.” That, in a way, is one of the problems created by the seasonal demand for labour in the Dominion, and Mr. Polson has been discussing it with farmers in the south. The thing must be placed on a definite basis and be capable of being extended as circumstances demand. Very many farms, and factories, could do with more hands, but the question to be asked and answered is whether they could possibly do without them. Similarly it is not enough, from the national point, of view, to conclude that the mobilizing of men and women is its own justification. Each one must be put to the best possible, use Inclusion in any of the branches of war service is not in itselt sufficient. What matters is that the work done in it, the service rendered, is essential. This involved issue touches every phase ot the national life, and most directly the activities of large numbers ot people. There would seem to be necessary, in any plans, a flexibility that will enable changing conditions and demands to be met without loss of either time or effort. This question of manpower must become of increasing importance and may, as already mentioned, constitute the most serious domestic problem of the War Administration.