DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10711, 17 September 1912, Page 5

DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

THE ANNUAL REPORT. The twenty-first annual report of the Department of Labour was presented to the. House of Representatives on Friday afternoon. It desef'bos the past fiscal year, as a normal one. There has not been any undue fluctuation in trade, and generally speaking all branches of industry have been steadily employed. The usual shortage of farm labour was experienced during the spring and summer months, and overseas arrivals wore welcomed. Reliable evidence has been given to the Department that, in a. number of instances, for wages of from 25s to 30s per week, men in the dairying districts are.expected to work from 1 a.m. to 8 p.m., and when the season slackens they have to face discharge or reduced earnings. These methods are considered as responsible to some extent for the shortage of farm labour, as men will not willingly accept such conditions during the coming season. Tho Department -will give preference to employers who guarantee workers some reasonable period of employment. As announced last year the Department has decided to improve the industrial statistics I>y making them cover the work done iii the factories throughout the year. The first set of the new statistics will be 'published later as an appendix to the Department's report. In future information will be collected for comparisons between the rates provided in the various .awards and the actual wages paid to workers. The total number of factories is 12,847, an increase of 121. For the first time hotels are included in the figures for shops, and largely owing to this face substantial increases are shown in the fi"Hires. The number of shops has increased bv 1733 to 16,577, employee?, by 7066 to 29,671, employers by 3585 to 10,367. and wages by £402,752 to £2,736,147. The official reports show that the difficulty of securing women workers grows more acute with eae.i passing year, aVid with rare exceptions there has been work offering for all women callers at the employment bureau.