Native Labour Exchanges Would Assist

Etter To The Editor

In P-Ng

IHE all-important question of

native labour was under dis cussion and Mr. Norman Izod mtioned the fact that a labour change had recently been pro sed for Rabaul and that he had ?gested this many years ago. This what he told us: lome years before the last war, in the old larai Chamber of Commerce, I emphasised need for some method of classifying native Ftsmen and their respective abilities, and gested a Labour Exchange, placed the details before the Governor he agreed in principle but said that lack : unds prevented the Government from getting extra staff needed for the work. That may e been the case, but with so simple a »me as I outlined I failed to see just where the extra work came in. Things have iged very much since then but the argument its formation is stronger than ever, he position to-day is that experienced ve tradesmen, skippers, engineers, car ters, truck drivers, etc., are far more neces for the progress of the country than ever ire. Things may be better when the ap iticeship training scheme starts turning out led natives, but that is years away yet. it is needed is some scheme which will rate now and make the best use of the ves who have already had years of cx ence, and which will be fair and just to loyer and employee alike, le present hit-or-miss method of finding i employees is a curse to the employer and ' unjust to the native, yet it could be ly rectified. have known natives who were in charge essels, engines, etc., worth many thousands lounds but who have been at little more cook-boys' pay for years and who do realise that their years of experience en them to much higher wages. Their lucky loyers are quite content to let matters on, of course, although other employers Id be pleased to double or triple the able native's wages if they knew where to him. ith the present system, an employer want an engineer for a decent-sized vessel, has ry out any Smart Alec who speaks good ish and has a fast line of talk, often with itrous and expensive results in breakdowns repairs. should be possible for an employer want say an engineer, for his vessel, to go i Labour Exchange or Labour Office and what suitable boys are available. The »r could look up his records and find out, aps, that there were several. He could i what vessels they had served on, their seters, their capabilities, the wages they received previously, and the opinion of ious employers. From this the officer could e what wages each lad should be paid inform the prospective employer. He would have particulars of each lad's location, present, boys like this, after being home a time, are just as likely to go to work ilantation-hands or engage in other work others of their village, their experience

being a dead loss to the community and to themselves.

To apply the plan for a start, on a small scale, to captains, engineers and two or three other trades, would entail little extra work and expense.

For example, when a captain of a vessel wished to sign off and go home the Labour Exchange officer concerned would give him a book showing his name, village, date of pay off, reason for pay-off, wages received, particu lars possible of his previous employment, character reference from his previous employer, etc., etc. The official would retain a duplicate

of this information which would be filed under "Captains".

With this information readily available, it would be easy for the employer to choose the men he requires. At the same time, competent natives would benefit and so would the country, by retaining the services of experienced tradesmen.

It would be the responsibility of the Em ployment Bureau official to keep the informa tion up to date and filed, also to see that the native gets a square deal regarding wages.

I, and others, thought that Mr.

Izod’s scheme was a good one—one point we all liked was that it could curb the irresponsibility of natives.

When they realised the benefits they would accrue they would take a pride in having good records and doing good work.

It would also, after a time, be handy for that awful person, the

tatistician, as well as to people larting new industries and wishing i know what tradesmen were avail )le and their degree of competence.

I have been asked to publicise it id let the other residents of the mntry look it over and make sug jstions. There are probably some eak points in it. If anyone has a stter scheme let’s hear of it, and rentually we may get somewhere.

I am, etc.,

John D. Wilkinson.

ideia Is. la Samarai, sipua.