TURNED AWAY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 460, 18 June 1937, Page 5

TURNED AWAY

FACTORY ORDERS Shortage Of Labour Press Association—Copyright Auckland, June 17. "Too many orders. Turning them away.” The busy head of an Auckland factory looked up from his desk and smiled. Like many others he had found it difficult in the past few months to keep pace with the increasing demand. People were spending more, and there had been a lot of leeway to make up in the family shopping. So he had been hard pressed. “Yes, we've been up against it since Christmas,” he went on. "Haven’t got abreast of the demand yet, but I don’t think it’s quite so bad now.” Then he reflected. “Or perhaps we’re getting used to the new conditions. It’s been a hard six months. Girls scarce, and some of our best ones leaving,’ us to get married. Youths barred by the basic wage, and most of them looking for employment in shops and. offices. Always short of lahbar. That’s been the position in our fafetory.* The casp was not quite typical, bnt was sufficiently representative to reveal some of the chief problems of the manufacturer in Auckland, and Indeed in New Zealand, at the present time. tf A different point of view was given I by the director of a firm with Domin- : ionwjde interests. “Since the 40-hour | week came into operation,” he said, "our production in the woollen mills has been mqre th,an >naintained; In fact there has bien a small increase as compared with the output under the previous 45diour week. But'there is an explanation of that. Two or three years ago we were supplying much smaller orders than to-day. and our mills were not working at full capacity. Now the orders In bulk I quantities are much increased, and 'that means a saving of time because 1 there is lesr changing over from one tvpe of work to another.”