THE FARM LABOUR PROBLEM.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16848, 31 May 1920, Page 7

THE FARM LABOUR PROBLEM.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PEESS." Sir,—At the recent farmers' conference, held at Wellington, a desire was expressed for a conieretico with farm workers, with ft view to winning the farm worker back to the land. There are two tilings that will bring him in abundance, tiiat is a decent wage and a homestead for married men. It is tho married man who will stick to the farmer if tho conditions aro right; the single men are always on the move. The farmers are mostly to blamo for tho present reluctance to take on farm work. When the Conciliation and Arbitration A?t was passed all sections of tho working community lined up and formed unions and presented their demands to the Arbitration Court, and every section of labour was granted what was considered a living wage. But the farm labourer was unable "to organiso into a union sufficiently strong to command respect, for the simple reason that the very idea of a farmworkers' union was turned down r by the combativeness of the Farmers' Union. Any farm-worker who darod to speak in favour of unionism was a marked man, and had to shift, for ho was known to all farmers as a dangerous subject for stirring up strife, and was a target for every farmer to shoot at. Tho fanners absolutely refused to consider anything in tho shape of a workers' union while they had a very aggressive union of their own. How. eon Id the farmer cxpect a man to follow the plough at £1 a week when such prominence was given in the papers to the earnings cf other sections of tho working community? However, since the farmers have expressed a desire to win tho worker back to the farm, I beg to offer them a suggestion as to the way they might do it without any conference with farm workers. Mr Massey has published the statement that tho Government pronoso during the coming year to build five hundred workers' homes, and I suggest that the Farmers' Union "o into the question of having those five hundred homes built on farms on three acre sections of first-class land or an equivalent area of second class land, sufficient for a cow, garden, and small orchard. The rent charged to the farm-worker to be not more than £3 per acre for first-class sections and second-class in proportion; that the G-overnment advance to any farmer desirous of building a worker's home the sum of £o(X), £-!C0 for tho houvj and £100 for fencing and neeessaiy outbuildings for which the tenant would pay *he farmers 5 per o;nt. as rent and 1 per cent, as a if novation fund. The farmer would redeem, tliu house in tho usual way or tho Advances to Settlers' Aot. I suggest as the wage of thr- farm-worker £3 a week, out of which lie would pay as a total reut for lard and hcii-,:; *G cent. on £oCO, £2-0 per annum, ar.e '. r '9 a3 the limit cf land lent, a total of r :""> per annum, which in virions ways the ton ant won id take out ui' the' land. This would mean that the married

worker could make a wage of £3 per week free of licuse rout-. I also suggest as a thing of mutual advantage the abolition of the bonus system and the payment of the .current wage for the overtime hours in liar-: vest time. lam quite aware that £-100 is not an extravagant sum for a house those times, but no fancy filagree work is necessary, something plain and comfortable —a little bit of solid comfort. nothing more, something that can ho added to as the families grow. It is no pood to New Zealand to have all its population drifting into the towns. The proportions are altogether wronc; even now. and the Government will make a blunder if it dees not encourage the worker to take to country life "Wherever Mr Masse v meets the farmers he preaches tho doctrine ot intense cu'ture. It is, a very pond doetrine. Lot- him now back it up by t>rin<rino- married workers on to the farms, and if the Farmers' Union are scr-nt.ical ns to my suggestions let. Mem build one homestead on tho r> an 1 and advertise for applicants, »n ( ~f the result will surprise them.— Yours, ete., F QREA p. Ataahun, M:iy 29^Ii_