THE WAGES OF FARM HANDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 179, 29 July 1903, Page 10 (Supplement)

THE WAGES OF FARM HANDS.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In your leader of last Monday night's issue, commenting on the conference of the Farmers' Union, you touched on the question of wages as paid to farm hands, and as one with a practical knowledge of the subject I am quite sure that your remarks thereon will be endorsed by every labourer of the class under notice throughout the colony. If ever there were a class of workers who needed legislation of the nature provided by the Arbitration Court, it is certainly farm labourers. The wage you mentioned, viz., £ 1 per week and tucker is the maximum. Scores, aye hundreds, are working for less, whilst the hours you also mentioned are the minimum, for in the majority of cases 70 and 80 hours per week are no uncommon thing. Coming to things as they actually exist around Auckland: Take for instance the milk trade, and more particularly the humble but absolutely necessary class known as milkers, many of whom, if it were not for a man's innate love of his liberty, or the idea that he has got it, would be infinitely better off in gaol. He starts his day's work about four to five o'clock in the morning, and very often finishes at 10 o'clock at night, the last four or five houra being put in by driving a load of milk to town, after the evening's milking. Then consider the conditions under which he very often has to work at this time of the year—mud everywhere.

All this to a great extent, however, is practically unavoidable, for the man who takes this kind of work on must put up to a certain extent with long hours. The peculiar , exigencies of the business demand it; but the injustice of the existing state of affairs strikes you when you come to the question of wages paid for such work as this —a pound a week and found, you say, is a kind of standard wage, but I can assure you that in many cases it is ony 15/ a week and found, and very roughly found at that. There are exceptions, of course, but in many cases the inmates of the gaol already referred to are better looked after in the way of bedding and food. The dairying industry is expanding on every hand, and is now recognised as one of the most important industries in the colony, and it should not be impossible for good reliable milkers to secure a wage of say 25/ a week and found if they would only combine together and insist on getting a fair proportion of the money they are making. In other words, let us form a Milkers' Union. Pretty well every other form of labour has its union, and there is every reason why milkers should have a union, both for their own benefit, and for the better satisfaction of those who employ them. I would suggest that the workers concerned call a meeting and go into this question. There need be no arbitrary ideas of trying to jump on the

employers, and attempt to make them pay wages that their business cannot stand. The tning is very simple to my mind. If the present price of milk will not pay an advance in wages, then let the producers raise the price. The milkers will be quite satisfied to give them time and opportunity to do this, and I feel sure that the public, when given to understand that the increase in price is going to pay fair wages to the men who are working from 60 to 80 hours a week to supply them with milk, will freely pay it—l am, etc., A MILKJiK.