MARKET GARDENERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 205, 29 August 1936, Page 16

MARKET GARDENERS.

AUCKLAND ASSOCIATION. EFFECT OF LABOUR LAWS. A well-attended meeting of local ' growers was held in the Victoria Hall, Avondale, during the week to consider the effect of the new Labour laws on the market gardening industry. l Mr. Harry Emp3on presided. The , secretary, Mr. Reader, enrolled most of i those present into J he newly-formed I "Auckland Commercial Gardeners' Asso- • ciation." ' Captain A. A. Currey addressed the ! meeting, and explained the object of the association. He said it was an extenj sion of the old "Tomato Growers' Asso- [ ciation." The association is to include • all who grow soft fruit, flowers, or • vogetables for sale, whether wholesale or retail. At the Dominion conference in Wellington, the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. W. Lee Martin, had stated that • the growing and marketing of produce was controlled under ranerty rules. ' There was too much difference between what the grower received and what the : consumr paid. The Fruit Marketing Commission will I be taking evidence in Auckland next month, and Mr. Currey advised the i meeting to appoint small committees of experts to prepare evidence to place ■ before the commission. Three committes wore formed, one dealing with vege--1 tables, one with sauce tomatoes, and one with glasshouse crops. The effect of shorter hours and the basic wage was discussed, most growers favouring the better working conditions, if they would also enforce upon Chinese, Hindu, Maori and Cook Island workers. A Market Garden Workers' Union has been formed, and has now 700 members, 1 many of whom have been working for very low wages, since it is not possible to pay high wages when the wholesale price of cauliflowers is 1/ per sack. A general discussion followed, .and growers complained that, although the wholesale price of cabbages and cauliflowers was one penny each, they were retailed at 4d each, a gross profit of 300 per cent; the auctioneer's 10 per cent was a mere tiifle compared with the retailers' 300 per cent. Mr. Currey pointed out that the growers were sometimes to blame for the large margin of profit, since grading and packing left much to be desired. When growers labelled and guaranteed their pack, the retailers seemed able and willing to work on a much smaller profit. One object of the association was the compulsory registration of all commercial gardeners, however small, then all produce would have to be sold under the growers' name, or reigstered number, growers' name, or registered number. Dishonest packers could then be dealt A keen' discussion took place over the price of sauce tomatoes. For years the large preserving firms paid £10 per ton, but during the depression the price has been beaten down to £5 10/ per ton, a reduction of 45 per cent, but there was no reduction in the price of sauce. Hindus had been encouraged to grow tomatoes for sauce-making, and the conditions are now little above coolielabour standard. The same firms paid £9 7/6 per ton in the Hutt. Valley, and £7 10/ at Nelson. These facts will be brought before the commission by the association. All commercial gardeners are eligible for membership, whether Oriental or European, and it : * intended to hold meetings at Otahuhu "M Tukekolie in the near future.