HOURS OF WORK ON FARMS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25253, 4 August 1947, Page 3

HOURS OF WORK ON FARMS

“UNFAIR PENALTY IMPOSED ”

FEDERATED FARMERS’ CONFERENCE

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, August 1. Whereas it was impossible to curtail hours of work to 40 a week on a farm, or to work a farm economically on the costs based on a 40-hour week, it was unfair to penalise a section of the community that refused, on humanitarian grounds, to use the strike weapon to demand such monetary reward for its work as other sections of the community were able to demand through the use of that weapon, stated a resolution passed by the Dominion conference of Federated Farmers last night. The farmer and the farm worker who produced the country’s basic wealth had been expected to work long hours and labour during the week-ends and holidays without compensation. while others had reduced their hours of work, increased their labour reward and collected premium rates of pay for work extending beyond the five-day week. Except where it could show that more production would result from reduced hours, the Government was requested by the conference to restore the economic balance between the primarv and secondary industries in New Zealand so that those engaged in the agricultural and pastoral industry would receive payment for their work on the basis of goods produced. This payment should be arrived at by taking into consideration the hours of work and the costs involved in producing such goods, bearing in mind that it was uneconomic to work a farm on the costs based on a 40-hour week. Another motion adopted advocated a survey of all secondary industries with the object of removing protection from those which were the least useful and the least economic to the country, taking into consideration the shortage of electricity, coal, labour and materials in essential industry.

Mr J. S. Elliott said that the establishment of new industries was being contemplated and should be stopped He would not suggest a return to manpower direction but with the removal of protection, any undesirable industries would automatically die out. It was also decided that the Government should be urged to issue money only on a basis that would create neither inflation nor deflation and that the guiding principle of such an issue should be the maintenance of a stable internal price level.