MAORI GIRLS & CHINESE

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 November 1929, Page 11

MAORI GIRLS & CHINESE

COMMITTEE’S REPORT. (Special to “Star.") WELLINGTON; November 8. A report of the committee appointed to investigate the conditions under which Maoris are employed by Asiatics in market gardens, was presented in the House to-day. . It was found that in fifty Chinese gardens inspected in the Auckland district, seven females and four male Maoris were employed, while at Pukekohe, the number in the busy season reached 50. _ The Committee declares that at Pukekohe the accommodation provided for the Maoris is disgraceful. Overcrowding is prevalent, and sanitary accommodation is most primitive. The general health of the Maoris was good, but the living conditions must have a degrading effect.. The general standard nowadays set by Maoris is much, higher than the standard of their Hindu or Chinese employers. ! The committee had great difficulty in ascertaining definite facts regarding Maori women living with Chinese, and expressed regret that the Commissioner of Police refused to allow his officers to provide information in their poesesThe committee recommends _ strict control of the living conditions in market gardens and the prohibition of the employment of Maori females under 21 years of age in gardens controlled by Asiatics, also that provision be made for a minimum wage for all time workers, and that therd should be suitable control .over piecework agreements.