THE WORKERS AND THE ARBITRATION COURT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 304, 17 September 1921, Page 3

THE WORKERS AND THE ARBITRATION COURT

Sir —With many others, I have been deeply interested in tho proceedings ot the above Court, especially with regard to tho shearers’ award, and cannot lor the life of me understand tho extreme and unreasonable attitude taken up b> tho so-called champions of Labour. It appears pretty obvious to mo that there is Or tendency throughout the whole or New Zealand and on behalf of Labour unions and their representatives to wilfully bring tho country to a state of bankruptcy. . , It has been my privilege to woik among the farming community ot this country for the past thirty years, and during that time I have learnt much with regard to the position of the average farmer, and though, they have had good times, especially during tho war, where aro they to-day?. IVell, to put 11 in a nutshell, eighty to ninety per cent, of them are on the verge of bankruptcy, in fact, if the moratorium was lifted tomorrow there would be such a financial scuffle and scatterment that the who.e country would be in the grip of an unprecedented chaos inside twenty-four hours. „ , Yes, to-day tho position of the farmer is not a position to be envied by these so-called satellites of Labour. “What have they done," these follows loudly ask, “with all the money they raked in during the big war?” Tho answer is right here: They spent it in the interests of true patriotism, and those few who did shirk are being made to spend to-day through the compulsory clauses of the Government Loans Act. Anyhow, cannot these fellows see that .with regard to the recent shearing awardfive industry cannot pay even tho reduced rate," as everything in tho farming industry 1* down to zero, and while this is so tho Government’s taxation has increased enormously? So much so that any further bleeding by ovor-on'.bitiou»

Labour unions seems to me to savour of nothing more nor less than an attemptto scuttle a sinking ship. I note that never before in our history was there such a widespread movement upon the part of Labour unionism to clamour for more and more, and stiil more. First it’s this award, then it’s that award, then this body and then that body, first pecking at the Court, then at the Prime Minister; and the whole cry is "More! More! More!" Do these people think the pockets of the farmer and the coffbrs of tho State are an inexhaustible reservoir into which one can eternally dip and pull to shore the muchcoveted needful? If they do then it will not bo long before events bring about their entire awakening to a reverse state of things, and the sooner that comes the better. No; Labour, all classes of it, lias got to accept reduced wages sooner or later, and the quicker Labour realises that fact the better it will be for the law and social order of our mtjeh-bur-dened country. Personally speaking, and as one who has chopped off a few bales of wool in my day, I think the new shearers’ award, if anything, is too liberal. It is very nice to get 30s. or £2 per hundred, but if the industry can’t pay it what's the use of growling? Let us carry on until times come good again and endeavour to do that which is best for both parties and the country as a whole. There is nothing whatever to be gained by Labour everlastingly trying to widen the breach betwear, employer and employed; for I can assure them all, these representatives of Labour, that if they and their followers had a change-over to-morrow with the primary producers of this country they’d all be grey headed inside a month. Thanking you for this lengthy trespass upon your valuable space, —I am, etc., A NON.JJNIONIST SHEARER.