“FEATHER-BEDDING OF FARMERS”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31322, 18 March 1967, Page 3

“FEATHER-BEDDING OF FARMERS”

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 17. Huge and increasing pay-outs of support prices for wool and butter were “feather-bedding” farmers at the expense of the workers of New Zealand, the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr T. E. Skinner) claimed in his address to today’s stop-work meeting.

This was a part of the Government-spon-sored, high-cost structure, high retail prices and low incomes and unemployment now being foisted on the workers of New Zealand as part of an “economic plan for recovery,” he said.

In its “flabby mishandling” of the economic situation, the National Government was treating New Zealand’s wage and salary earners as “second class citizens,” he said. Commission wool buying in support Of a fictitious price for New Zealand wool had cost the Wool Commission £l2 million to date, one third of the £37 million the commission should have had in

reserve for this use, said Mr Skinner. “Unfortunately when the commission got there, the cupboard was bare. These funds had been raided by the Government who had sold the commission securities in their place. “Now we are faced with finding the money to pay these back-to provide a floor price for the wool grower. This, like the payments to the dairy farmer, is inflation of the worst kind.” DAIRY SUPPORT

The position regarding the workers’ support of the dairyfarmers was even worse, he said. Though receipts overseas for dairy produce had risen over the last four years the unprofitable state of the market had allowed the dairy industry to draw on the Reserve Bank to the amount of £35 for every ton of butter sold.

“This is necessary to make up the fictitious cost of production which is built into the guaranteed price for butterfat,” he said. “There is little prospect of butter selling at a price which will break even with this guaranteed price, and the domestic price of 2s lOd per lb is nearly 2d per lb more than is being received for butter in London. “The Government Is, in fact, increasing the rate of taxation in a roundabout way which it hopes will not be noticed.” Mr Skinner had an attentive and favourable audience of between 6000 and 7000 workers.