Shearers Accommodation Bill.

Hastings Standard, Issue 111, 3 September 1896, Page 4

Shearers Accommodation Bill.

Speaking on the above measure weich was killed in the Council last week the Hon Mr Ormond said he thought it was desirable that the Council should have other information as to the working of the law as it at present stood, and as to what its effect had been since it had been into operation. In the first place this matter was already provided by law under the 52nd section of the Factories Act of 1894, which gave the right of inspection under certain conditions. That clause was, he believed, put in the Factories Act of at the instance of the honorable gentleman in another branch of the Legislature who had now brought in this bill. A previous bill dealing with this subject was not passed because, he understood, the Minister of Labor desired to have all ibis class of legislation in his own hands, and so provision was inserted in the Factories Act. There was, however, no appeal under the present law, and this bill provided that, there should be a right of appeal to the Stipendiary Magistrate; and then the penalties under this Bill were increased. Those were the only differences between the law as it at present existed and this Bill. This Bill insisted on accommodation being provided for one set of outdoor workers—namely, the shearers. Now, he did not understand at all how it was that there should be a desire to make a provision for outdoor labor of this class and not at the same time provide for accommodation for harvesters and others employed in agricultural work. Why should they pick out this particular class of workers for separate treatment by law ? If legislation was to be enacted the measure should be comprehensive, and it ought to say that these other workers were to be put in exactly the same position, because the conditions were exactly similar. Harvesting, as well as shearing operations, went on in the summer-time, and if it was thought desirable that there should be fixed accommodation for one set of workers it naturally followed that the same provision should be made for every other similar class of workers. This Bill was aimed at one particular branch of labor, and therefore he considered it undesirable. He also objected to the Bill on the ground that it created a new department of inspectors, who must necessarily proceed to carry out their duties and annoy people by inspection. At present the law was administered under the police authorities, and all, he understood, was done was that where it was believed there was insufficient accommodation, or some other cause of complaint, the police could inspect and make a report, and, if necessary, they could have the conditions altered. If ■ they passed a Bill like this it meant the appointment of inspectors, who would have to make visits throughout the country, and thereby cause annoyance to people, and, as he should presently show, it would do injury to the workers themselves. The inspection would be done in a much more vexatious manner than at present if there were fixed oflicers for the work. Let bim now show how the present laweven had already affected a particular Bet of shearers in the particular district with which he was best acquainted—namely, the pastoral District of Hawke's Bay. The time between the months of October and February was simply the harvest of the small settlers; it was the time they earned most of : ept their families (iiirm; thin ; f the year. Now, whit ■ i > .-f.Ti operation of the j.r >. r 1 in the Factories A-.: ' ;provision was pa-vA-.l tties** I'. iCop .'i workers he had rpftrr-.l z:> dil -irS the whole of the shearing of Hawked Bay. They had most of the sheds, and it was a recognised means of sustenance for themselves and their families. But when many of the sheepfarmers found they were annoyed by the visits of the police officers they said, "Well, how can we get oat of this? We do not care about this kind of thing, and there is no necessity for being harassed in this way." Then, this is what they did: They knew that in their climate the practice which was in vogue of using tents in the summer-time infinitely more healthy, and preferable in every way, to any accommodation mentioned in this Bill, and, instead of employing European shearers, they took on Natives in their places, and the result was that under this provision of last year the Natives absorbed about a third of the hhearing of Hawke's Bay. They had taken it away from the European people who used to have it; and he predicted that if this kind of legislation was extended the employment of more of\he European shearers would go in the same way, thereby causing the greatest possible injur)' to the very persons whom this Bill professed to protect. From what he had heard he did not himself believe there had been any complaint of any sort on this subject from shearers in the North "Mam?, and the passing of this Bill would, he believed, have the effect of causing an additional number of employers to take on Native shearers. Now, the Bill provided that where persons found their own accommodation this Act did not apply ; so that thi« Bill offered a distinct inducers nt to employers, rather than be anuou i ind rather than erect premises wLilli could only be in use for about e weeks in the year, to emplo) xch persons as did not want ax cotnmodation provided for them. That would be the outcome of it, and that was how it would work; and he would point out to the honorable member that the Act as it stood now har> j injured the European workers, and that this BUI would still further injure them. The feet was that the Native shearer in many cases lived close at | hand in his village, and, as he could |L, provide his own accommoda--11;,? 'tioP, there was no trouble, or very §§|ilnmbto, to the employers.

year had always employed Europeans then gave them up, and employed Natives, and he knew many , more "who were going to do the same thing this year, and the outcome of this Bill would be a great injury to many settlers living in Hawke's Bay. He did not at all say that the accommodation named in this Bill was more than what was needed, but he did say chat the old practice of arranging with shearers to bring their tents to sleep in had been the means of providing more healthy and comfortable accommodation for them than the accommodation proposed in this Bill. He had given reasons which, to his mind, showed that the way this question was being dealt with was a mistake, and would only tend to injure the persons it was proposed to benefit, and he thought it would be a pity if such a Bill as this was allowed to pass. He would not vote for the Bill, holding the opinions he did with regard to it.