LABOURSHORTAGE

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 289, 5 December 1936, Page 18

LABOURSHORTAGE

POSITION ON FARMS. EFFORT TO IMPROVE SITUATION. MINISTER'S ASSURANCE. (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, Friday. Further instances of the acute shortage of farm labour in the Waikato were placed before the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, at a conference convened by the Waikato sub-pro-vincial executive of the Farmers' Union in Hamilton this afternoon. In his reply the Minister reiterated the assurances which he gave at Morrinsvi'lle and Te Awamutu yesterday that the Government would make every endeavour to improve the situation by making farming more attractive. Mr. S. N. Ziman, who presided, said 1 the Minister's recent broadcast address might have been correct as a. general i survey,' but it did not apply to the Waikato, and had created a feeling of despair among farmers in the district. The problem came under three headings. The most serious aspect lay in the , paucity of fit and skilled milkers and many women and children as well as the ; farmers were over-working.to keep their | holdings going. Though the lack of [ adequate harvesting workers was serious., it was not so serious as the lack of permanent" hands. Difficulties arising I from the Agricultural"Workers Act also L required elucidation. Position Aggravated. Mr. F. L. Onion maintained that the Government's legislation had tended f to aggravate ths position. The solution would be found in improving the labour j and conditions of farm employment ;to f the level of other industries. On preseW S prices recorded for produce the dairy | farmer could not compete for labour. There might be palliatives, and in this regard the Morrinsville camp scheme could be recommended. Mr. G. Adler (Rangiriri) said he did I not believe there was a general difficulty in obtaining workers. Two men had recently approached him for work and I although 50 or 60 farmers in his district f had been invited to engage them there f had been no response. It was not so ; much a case of high wages as over-work. [ He discounted the suggestion that high public works wages were attracting men from the farms. Mr. W. B. Cummings (Taupiri) drew attention to the limited scope for advancement of farm workers and Mr. A. T. Bryant (Te Awamutu) recommended a form of apprenticeship. Harvesting by Contract. "Several farmers in my district have decided to bale hay by contract instead of harvesting under the high rates of pay," stated Mr. F. C. Roberts (Te Kowhai). He said it was practically impossible for a farmer to obtain the services of keen young men looking to farming for a career. "The farmers are getting only the pickings from the towns," claimed Mr. D. B. Higgins (Matamata).. "My house has been turned into a labour bureau and I have scores of inquiries from farmers in desperate need of men. We must alter this system. There is no other industry but farming in which an employer is asked to take employees into his own house and treat them as members of the family. One man is as good as another, but familiarity breeds contempt." There were cries of "shame" when Mr. Higgins spoke of one farm where a man milking 83 cows and with a delicate wife had to call on the assistance of a cream carrier to complete his milking. It was impossible for him to get assistance at a reasonable rate. Mr. W. Harbutt, chairman of directors of the Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Company, said it seemed as though the Government was perpetuating the policy of previous Governments in making the Dominion a secondary-industry country. If so it would be to the detriment of the country. He considered the remedy was to be found in the land policy. Unproductive land should be taken over by the Government and when a man served his apprenticeship and proved his credentials he should be given a section. To-day, a man going to a farm started as a drudge and had no chance of owning one himself. Mr. Armstrong said he had had investigations made into farm labour conditions, and it had been found that there was no shortage except in the Waikato. The inquiry showed that on some farms the conditions were not satisfactory. There was a great demand for youths, said Mr. Armstrong, and double the number of those leaving secondary schools this year could be absorbed in industry and" in shops. It was not going to help the farmer to lower the standard in other industries, but something had to be done to help the farming industry. Unemployed men able to milk were not available, as the youths had not been trained for the work. The Minister said he was looking at the half-holiday from the workers' point of view, although he realised the difficulty regarding the evening's milking. When the Agricultural Workers Act came up for review at the end of the season, the holiday question would be adjusted. The factory inspectors were not going round the country looking for breaches of the Act. The Government expected common sense to govern the position. Apprentices for Farms. Unless the worker complained the matter would not be investigated. If the worker insisted on his h'alf-holiday, the law required the farmer to give it to him. Mr. Armstrong said he approved j of the apprenticeship scheme for farm i youths, and it was possible that the | present Flock House scheme would be I extended. If the men to be employed on harvesting would not work, then the Minister did not think the State was I justified in keeping them. He thought j that to subsidise unskilled farm labour j would be dangerous. It would be better °Aft reaSe *"' le g uarar iteed price. miM) ; the Minister had answered thanks" 8 Was accor(ie( i a y ote of |