NO SHORTAGE OF LABOUR

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21865, 19 August 1936, Page 5

NO SHORTAGE OF LABOUR

WORKERS' FOR FARMS STATEMENT BY MINISTER [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.! WELLINGTON, August 18. A denial that there existed any shortage of farm labour was given by the Minister for Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, when replying to points raised by the Opposition during consideration of the estimates of the Labour Department in the House of Representatives to-night. He said that any farmer offering the wages prescribed in the Agricultural Workers Bill would be supplied with labour. The increased number of men on sustenance, said Mr Armstrong, was clue to several causes. The main one was a more liberal interpretation of the legislation by the present Government, as a result of which more people were allowed to participate in tne benefits of sustenance. These people hart been debarred from sustenance by the previous administration. It did not follow that because more were allowed to participate in the benefits of sustenance there were more unem-» ployed. There were considerably more people in employment at the present time than there had been during the last six years. Nearly every industry was going at full speed and that had only happened since the Labour Government came into office. The unemployed were better clothed, better housed, better fed, better paid, and better treated than they were by the last Government. Referring to farm labour, Mr Armstrong said that v advertisements m Auckland newspapers were enquired into by the department, and he was informed that in some cases no one was required at all. Mr W. P. Endean (Nat,, Parnell). Wno pays for the advertisements? Mr Armstrong: I do not know, but in a number of cases the remuneration offered is so low that we would not send anyone. Hundreds .of men, said Mr Armstrong, were being supplied to farmers. If a farmer offered reasonable wages he would be, supplied with men.