Employers’ Quest For More Output From N.Z. Workers

Grey River Argus, 3 September 1948, Page 8

Employers’ Quest For More Output From N.Z. Workers

WELLINGTON, Sept; 2. Mr Percy Coyle, in his presidential address to-day to the annual meeting of the Wellington Employers’ Association said:—“New Zealand is facing a rapid deterioration in its general .standard of living as a result of the inflationary trends. As was stated by the Minister of Finance (Mr Nash) in presenting the 1947 Budget, We can only assist in this matter by making better use of our available recources and above all by increasing the output per unit of labour in our factories, in industry,in transportation, and in our offices.” He claimed that recurrent small strikes were sapping the fruits of the large majority of the workers in New Zealand. Employers’ efforts were useless without the close co-or-dination of every group of workers and employers. Referring to wartime control and ,in particular, price control,Mr Coyle said that many of these still remainded and were greatly retarding enterprise and interfering with progress. While there was justification, for some post-war control, the indefinite continuation of such controls might be claimed to be .an essential to socialisatin. “I feel that the principle of giving extra holidays when these have already been observed on a workng day is wrong,” said the secretary (Mr W. J. Mountjoy), when the association was discussing, in particular, Christmas of this'year, when both Christmas Day and Boxing Day occur over the week-end. Mr Coyle was re-elected president of the association.