DEMANDS NOT HIGH

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 108, 3 November 1937, Page 15

DEMANDS NOT HIGH

MINISTER'S REPLY

Replying to Mr. Hamilton, the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong) said it would-y be difficult to: find a period during the past twenty1 years when there were less advertisements for farm lab6ur than there were today. The same applied to advertise-, ments for domestic and other classes' of labour. The Minister added that the past Government could not show that it had done more to assist the farmers ■to obtain labour than1 the present Government

. Mr. II We did n<ri have 30,C?0 men out of work.

• Government voices: No, you had 80,000. '■'■""

The Minister said that if Mr. Hamilton had looked further in the advertising coluirtns he would have found just as hiany men offering their services to the farmers as there were, farmers calling for labour. Either Mr. Hamilton was one-eyed or not fair, enough to dratv attention to this aspect of the position. No one krtew better than the' speaker that the farmers were in need of labour, but that was not unusual for the milking season.

The G«<7emment,.Mr. Armstrong said, \vas prepared to help the farmer all it could, It had offered to pay a subsidy on fhe wages of labourers. Had the other Government gone to that length? he asked.

Mr. Hamilton: Yes; tho 4B schtme. TRAINING FARM HANDS.

■ Mr. Armstrong pointed out that ono: of the difficulties o£ the position was ithe reluctance of the farmers to employ.

inexperienced men. The labour was available- if the farmer would train the men, ahd to help him do this the Government offered to pay a subsidy, on wages. It could not do more than that.