H.—ll

1944 NEW ZEALAND

DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR (REPORT OF THE)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

The Hon. the Minister of Labour to His Excellency the Governor-General Wellington, 31st July, 1944. I have the honour to submit to Your Excellency the report of the Department of Labour for the year ended 31st March, 1944. P. C. Webb, Minister of Labour. His Excellency the Governor-General of New Zealand. The Secretary, Department of Labour, to the Hon. the Minister op Labour Sir, — Department of Labour, Wellington, 26th July, 1944. I have the honour to present herewith the fifty-third annual report of this Department for the information of His Excellency the Governor-General, and to be laid before Parliament in compliance with the Labour Department Act, 1908, and the Factories Act, 1921-22. The report covers the financial year Ist April, 1943, to 31st March, 1944. I have, &c., Henry E. Moston, Secretary of Labour. The Hon. the Minister of Labour.

REPORT EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS Information in regard to workers in factories is compiled from the details supplied when the annual re-registration of these premises is effected and is therefore an accurate statement of the employment position in factory occupations. No similar source of information is available in respect of other types of employment. As mentioned elsewhere in this report, the employment position in retail and office establishments is estimated from a record obtained by officers during the course of their inspection duties. Farm employment and employment in the building trades can also only be estimated as a result of inspections, though in respect of the building trades the number employed was previously ascertained by the Census and Statistics Department. The number of inspections made has been reduced as a result of mobilization of experienced personnel, and the information available as a result of inspections is therefore incomplete. The reports of Inspectors, however, draw attention to shortages of trained personnel in many industries, including primary production. Direction of workers, particularly to primary industries, is dealt with under the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944 (Serial number J 944/8) and is presumably covered by the report of the National Service Department. Increases in factory employment have been commented 011 in the reports of previous years and are further illustrated in the next section of this report. During the year a statement comparing the extent of factory employment in the four principal towns was prepared and is reproduced herein as a matter of record. The expansion that has occurred in the North Island is a corollary to the increased share that the North Island has in the distribution of population generally. However, the statement suggests that probably insufficient advantage is being taken by industry of the resources of the South Island. It is also an interesting side commentary on the housing and electrical supply problems that are of special significance in North Island towns.