The Dominion. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1942. THE DOMINION’S MANPOWER

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 291, 7 September 1942, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1942. THE DOMINION’S MANPOWER

With so manv calls upon the manpower of the country calls of such a nature that’it would be difficult to place them in any fixed order of priority—the necessity for the complete survey of the Dominio s resources ordered by the War Cabinet will be generally recognized When completed it should give the authorities a reliable indication o the pool of’power, from which the requirements of the country, tor defence production and war industries must be supplied. _l6 problem is one of transfer and adjustment, not to meet any position with an element of stability in it, but one that must be subject to constant revision and consequent change. The manpower of the countrj, like the fighting forces, must have, as far as possible, a mobility so that the required strength will be available where and when it is most needed. . . • The sort of adjustment that will be necessary is seen in the reported decisions of the War Cabinet to release men from the forces, and essential industries, for shearing and for work in the dairying industry. Those who go into the shearing sheds, or are engaged in mustering and other related activities, are required in the forces and the industries but for the time being, until the clip needed by the Home Government has been secured, that work must be given priority. If the weather is good the greater part of it should be done in the twelv weeks allotted, but it will call for co-operation all along the line, in order that no time may be lost between one shed and another. In the dairying industry the position is different. Additional laboui wi be required for the remainder of the season. New Zealand has been asked to produce as much butter as possible to meet the urgent requirements of the Mother Country and the factories form the bottleneck through which it must pass. Any marked shortage of skilled labour there would be a severe handicap. These instances deal with cleai y defined labour shortages and steps have been taken to meet the position but there will remain the basic problem—the provision of the labour required for the routine work on the land upon which the maintenance of production largely depends. . .. There is another aspect to which the manpower survey will inevitably draw attention. As it is not’ possible to expand our numerical resources in this respect then policy must surtly be directed to making greater use of all that is available. There must be greater individual effort, regarded solely as a contribution to the common cause. It may, and probably will, entail longer hours and more intense application, and it is in those respects that the manpower available can be strongly reinforced and output increased. In the margin between what is being worked and what with reason could be worked, based on the experience of other countries, there is a potential productive power that must be tapped. There must be a greater degree of direction of labour, and the application of an individual test as to the essential character of the work being done. When these steps have been taken, and everyone is doing his or her best, then the mobilization of the manpower and woman-power of the country will be practically complete and the contribution of the country to the Allied effort will move towards the goal desired —the maximum possible by a free people.