H.—l9b

1940. NEW ZEALAND.

UTILIZATION OF THE MAN-POWER OF THE DOMINION. STATEMENT BY THE HON. D. WILSON, MINISTER OF MAN-POWER.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave.

As part of the Government's scheme for preparedness in the event of war, a special Committee representative of all Government Departments concerned with the problem of man-power was set up prior to the outbreak of hostilities. The Committee carefully considered methods for preserving essential industries and services, and the available British statements and other material bearing on the subject were studied. It was clear that one of the first steps necessary in the event of war would be to guard against the indiscriminate withdrawal of men from industry. Accordingly a Schedule of Reserved Occupations was prepared on the recommendations of the appropriate committees established by the Organization for National Security. This Schedule comprised the essential occupations in New Zealand's industries, and when mobilization commenced shortly after the outbreak of war the Government directed that men actually engaged in these occupations should not be accepted for military service until full investigation had been made. It was quite apparent, however, that the adoption of a method of investigating individual cases as far as possible would be most necessary, as experience showed that many men whose occupations were included in the Reserved Schedule could be released without detriment to their particular line of production, and, conversely, there were others who should be reserved although their occupations were not included in the Schedule. Special care was taken to ensure that the primary industries were safeguarded, and the cases of farm workers who enlisted for service were subjected to very full examination to ensure that production on farms would not be jeopardized. CONSTITUTION OF THE CENTRAL ADVISORY LABOUR COUNCIL. Shortly after the outbreak of war three major organizations were established by Cabinet to deal with war conditions, namely :— The Industrial Emergency Council, The Primary Production Council, and The Factory Advisory Committee. The Central Advisory Labour Council, representative of these three above-mentioned organizations, was constituted to co-ordinate their work in respect of man-power. The Central Advisory Labour Council was set up under the chairmanship and control of the Hon. P. C. Webb, who was appointed the first Minister of Man-power. It comprises an employers' and an employees' representative from each of the other councils and a representative of the armed Forces. The Director of Man-power is also a member of as well as Executive Officer to the Council. The functions of the organization are to inquire into and report to the Government on all matters affecting the utilization of man-power in. the Dominion, with a view to expanding national resources to the full. An important part of the work will be to review constantly the possible effect of recruiting on industry so that as the war progresses production can be maintained. Each meeting of the Council usually involves consideration being given to a lengthy agenda covering matters pertaining to the man-power problems. It will be appreciated that these problems have entailed a great deal of investigation work, and thanks are due to the members for the manner in which they have, without any reservation, given their time and thought to these matters. The promulgation of the Schedule of Important Occupations in place of the Schedule of Reserved Occupations was one that w&s given the undivided attention of the Council. This Schedule covers a list of occupations which the Government considers to be highly important in order that production and the maintenance of essential industries is not disrupted in time of