SHEARING SHEDS

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 237, 21 June 1926, Page 7

SHEARING SHEDS

ACCOMMODATION FOR NATIVES COMPLAINT AGAINST CONDITIONS SPECIAL INSPECTION ORDERED As the outcome of allegations regarding the accommodation provided for Maori shearers on the East Coast, the Minister of Labour (Hon. G. J. Anderson) promised a deputation from the New Zealand Workers' Union on Saturday that a special inspection of that district would be made by an officer from the Labour Department. Several matters in connection with the operation of the Workers’ Compensation Act, and the Wages Protection and Contractors’ Liens Act were also mentioned by the deputation, which comprised Messrs. C. Baldwin (retiring president of the New Zealand Workers’ Union), H. I. Walters, J. Whvte, J. B. Williams, Eru Brown, and R. Tutaki, the last two appearing on behalf of the Maori shearers. Mr. Baldwin said there had been a case last year where a shearing contractor had failed at the end of the season, and his employees were left with amounts up to £3O owing to them. When the case came before the Official Assignee the men had recovered practically nothing. The Minister said he was under the impression that the employees had precedence under the Bankruptcy Act. Members of the deputation stated that for some reasons shearers had been overlooked in that provision, and the Minister gave an assurance that he would look into the matter. Mr. Baldwin declared that under some of the district awards, threshingmill employees had no claim under the Workers’ Compensation Act for injuries received while travelling between farms. Better inspection of the accommodation provided for threshingmill employees was also wanted. The Minister said he would see to it that the inspectors carried out their work thoroughly, but he could not agree to the work of inspection being carried out while the work was in pro--gress. It would have to be done either beforehand or afterwards. Accommodation For Maoris. Referring to the conditions that obtained among the Maori shearing sheds on the East Coast of the North Island, Mr. Whyte said that during his _ last visit there he had found matters slightly better, but there was still room for vast improvement. Some of the huts provided for the Maoris were not fit for human habitation. He quoted ths case of one station where the shearers slept in a hut with no beds in it. There was a creek just below the hut, and further up the creek all the slaughtering was done for the station. The shearers had to wash in this creek, and the water was also used for cooking. There were still many stations where Maoris of both sexes .were compelled tn sleep in the same room, both married couples and single men and girls. He thought it a poor reflection on the pakeha race that they should subject Maori workers to such conditions. Many of the Maoris were educated men and women quite entitled to accommodation that was as good as that accorded to pakeha workers. The Minister: Isn’t it a fact that the average Maori would prefer to steep in the c-pen, or under the conditions that he is nsed to?

Mr. Whyte: No, that is certainly not the case.

Mr. Eru Brown, corroborating Mr. Whyte’s statements, said that all the shearing on the East Coast was done by Maori labour. Conditions on some stations were still very bad. One station he knew of provided a three-roomed hut for the shearers, and. fourteen men were compelled to sleep in one room about 25 feet by 8 feet. There were no bunks in the room.

The Minister: Wouldn’t a Maori prefer to sleep on the floor? Mr. Brown: That might have been true when we were cannibals, but not now. We want the same accommodation as pakeha shearers. Mr. Tutaki spoke of the accommodation provided on the Hawke’s Bay star lions, and urged the need for a mote thorough inspection. He suggested that the inspector should visit the stations when the work was in progress, and that he should be accompanied by the employer and a representative of tlie men. Minister's Reply. The Minister stated in reply that he would see that adequate inspection of threshing mills was earned out. This was the third year in which the matter if accommodation for Maori shearers had been brought before him, and he was determined that tlie position should be definitely cleared up. Hitherto the inspection of the outlying shearing sheds had been carried out in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, but this year he would have a special officer from the Labour Department detailed to inspect the East Coast stations, and when his report came to hand he would see what action the Department would take. With reference to the matter referred to under the Wages Protection Act, he said it seemed fair that workers should not suffer heavily through the bankruptcy of an employer, and he would refer the case in question to the Crown Law Office. If necessary, the law would be amended.