Dilutee Labour to Help Solve Problems in Garage Workshops
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LABOUR dilution to-day has become an axiom in the technique of success," said Mr. R. E. Rossall, Inspector of Labour Supply, Ministry of Labour, at a recent meeting of the Leeds Section of the Institute of the Motor Trade, when he opened a discussion on dilution of labour to meet man-power shortage in
garage workshops. Mr. F. Dutson, • the Section's chairman, presided.
The solution of the man-power problem, Mr. Rossall remarked, lay in the breaking-down of skilled work into simpler jobs, to such an extent that it could be handled by semi-skilled or " green" labour which had been trained to specialize in one particular aspect of the work. The degree to which such dilution could be applied was governed by the -volume of work passing through sthe workshop. For that reason, he suggested that schemes which the M.O.W.T. and trade representatives were trying to arrange for the concentration of industry in the motor-vehicle repairs business would turn out to be a considerable blessing.
Mr. Rossall, who explained that he was not speaking in an official capacity. said that the volume of motor-vehicle repairs appeared to .be ever on the increase, whilst the Services' demands for motor mechanics were such that it was reasonable to expect more and -more to be called to join the Forces. It was absolutely essential, therefore, that labour dilution by the employment of women, and men over military age or of low medical grade, shoul& be undertaken as rapidly as possible.
Sketching a Sine of approach to the employment of dilutee labour, Mr. Rossall suggested that managements should dissect the type of work being handled under various headings, such as engine, gearbox, clutch, rear axle, front axle, chassis, body, electrical fittings, and so on. Consideration of the volume of work under each heading would then make it clear whether it was feasible to train specialists in every section, or whether some sections must be combined for dilution purposes. It was not the intention of dilution to provide fully skilled mechanics; any attempt; within a few 'months, to make a dilutee into the equivalent of a man .who had served an apprenticeship of .five or seven years was doomed to failure.
Mr. T. I. Bennett, of T. I. Bennett, Ltd.; Bramley, agreed that the breaking-down of jobs for the purpose of labour dilution could be successfully applied in large general garages, and in such .establishments as publicservice "vehicle maintenance and sepals shops. The motor trade presented a problem in this direction, however, in that it was largely made up of small shops.
Even under concentration of industry many of these small shops would have to remain, he suggested, and he was not convinced that the breaking-down policy could be applied in motor-vehicle repairing to the extent which Mr. Rossall had suggested, although it might be beneficially introduced in some cases.
As to the supply of additional labour, Mr. Bennett said he preferred to emplby boys, both from the standpoint of maintaining better balance in the industry and because lads were more responsive to training than adults. There was no question that women on repetition work would fulfil Mr. Rossall's ideas, but the varied duties in the average garage presented a very different proposition.
In replying to Mr. Bennett, Mr. Rossall said he had personal knowledge' of instances in which women mechanics were so skilled that they were •-• doing the whole. job." He was not suggesting, however, that that was an ideal at which to aim in the training of women. As to Mr. Bennett's advocacy of the employment -of boys, he submitted that was no . solution of the labour problem, because when they became 19 the Forces wanted them.
Mr. R. H. Hainsworth, of the Aero Piston Ring Co., Ltd„ said the good results which' his company had obtained from the use of dilutee female labour in manufacturing processes had been a real " eye-opener."