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(vi) Notification of Termination of Employment in Non-essential Work 158. It was not necessary for either employers or workers to obtain the consent of the District Man-power Officer for termination of employment in non-essential work, but it was most necessary that District Man-power Officers should be aware of all such individual terminations so that workers leaving non-essential work could, at that point, be considered for direction to essential jobs. The regulations therefore required employers to notify District Man-power Officers of such terminations within twenty-four hours. (vii) Industrial Absenteeism Control 159. Industrial absenteeism is largely a reflection of workshop morale and the ability of management to evoke loyalty and interest in the job, and this was something which compulsory powers could not regulate. Nevertheless, some cognizance had to be taken of individual defaults which held up essential work or threw an unfair burden on residual staff. Consequently, provisions were incorporated in the regulations whereby the person who deliberately absented himself from work without sufficient reason could be penalized by a deduction of up to two days' pay from wages, the deductions being paid into the War Expenses Account. The obligation was placed on all employers in essential undertakings to report any absence from work which was without leave or without any reasonable excuse known to them. 160. The total number of complaints dealt with by District Man-power Officers to YJ Day was 48,237, these being disposed of in the following manner : (a) Offence not proved .. .. .. 11,252 (b) Warning given to worker .. .. .. 29,085 (c) Fine imposed .. .. .. .. 7,900 Complaints dealt with are further analysed in Tables 35 and 36 of the Appendix. (viii) Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees 161. With the introduction of industrial mobilization in January 1942, it became necessary to constitute independent authorities to deal with the appeals of workers and employers arising out of decisions of District Man-power Officers. Consideration was given to the suggestion that this work might well be performed by existing Armed Forces Appeal Boards or, as they were termed at the time, " District Advisory Manpower Committees." The extreme pressure under which these bodies were working at the time, and the desirability of establishing authorities especially equipped to deal with the industrial as distinct from the military aspect of compulsory national service, decided the Government against the proposal. It was decided, instead, to establish Man-power Appeal Committees, each of which would be composed of one representative of employer interests, one representative of employee interests, and a Chairman appointed independently by the Government. Four industrial Man-power Appeal Committees were established initially, with territories based on the four main centres and empowered to deal with all appeals arising out of the decisions of Man-power Officers in their respective territories. During 1942 the volume of work of Industrial Man-power Appeal Committees grew appreciably, and in. 1943 it was found necessary to establish two committees instead of one for the Wellington zone. 162. Appeals dealt with by committees to 31st March, 1946, totalled 14,450, these being disposed of as follows. Withdrawn .. .. .. .. 2,758 Dismissed .. .. .. .. 6,331 Upheld .. .. .. .. 5,361 163. It is interesting to note the percentage of appeals lodged to decisions and directions given by District Man-power Officers to 31st March, 1946. The total number of decisions and directions given by District Man-power Officers and subject to the right of appeal was 494,618. This figure comprises all directions to employment and applications for permission to terminate employment, all cases of absenteeism in respect of which fines were imposed and all declined applications for permission to engage workers. 2—H 11A

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