SHORTER HOURS

Hokitika Guardian, 29 May 1933, Page 7

SHORTER HOURS

ISHARE THE WORK PRINCIPLE;.

Speaking at the annual meeting of his company in London, Mr P. Malcolm Stewart, chairman of the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers, Limited, disagreed with the tendency to condemn mechanisation, which was often a part ol the p, ooess of rationalisation. The fault lay; lie said,’in our failure to take adequate advantage of the benefits which mechanical science and invention had placed at our disposal.

Mechanisation had amazingly increased productive capacity, but this result bad been attained with. such rapidity that we had outstripped our slow-growing knowledge of how- fully to use it. An outstanding success had been scored in that it had transformed much of the most arduous and dangerous manual work, often ill-paid, into easier and safer work, generally better paid. The lower costs obtained benefited the producer, but in a diminishing degree as his products flooded the markets.

Lower prices favoured the consumer, bujt they reacted bn 'tjhe producer. Unemployment and reduced purchasing power became general, whether caused by over-production or under under-consumption. He hoped the time was not far distant when Britain would take the lead in demon* strating that mechanisation need not enslave man, but give him greater freedom. Ho urged <an immediate effort to reduce unemployment by working shorter hours and evolve a ijiraotianl application of the “share the work” principle.

Action should not he deferred because there might ho a few industries to which shorter hours would, not be applicable, or because-many would require uniformity of hours worked. Initially the’costs of production , would be somewhat increased, but he was convinced that the advantages to industry from the resulting improved efficiency, particularly when the working hours could be condensed into a live working-day week, and from decreased unemployment, would- ,go far to mitigate the increase of costs'once experience Was gained.