FARM-LABOUR LAWS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 118, 2 May 1936, Page 11

FARM-LABOUR LAWS

Farmers Will Not De Adversely Affected MR. POLSON’S OPINION Farmers would oct be adversely affected by the Government intended conditions for farm workers, Mr. W. J. Polson, M.P.. president of the Farmers’ Union, told the Inglewood branch at a recent meeting. Details of the conditions of work and pay were still confidential. Without disclosing confidences he could say that the Farmers’ Union had done work of enormous value to farmers in connection with the farm labour legislation. For one year at least there would be no interference with the hours of work. The wages would be on a sliding scale so that when the farmer received 14d. or led. per pound, the farm worker would receive a wage that should be satisfactory to all. That agreement had been endorsed by Cabinet. He thought when the agreement was fully disclosed farmers and farm w oncers would be satisfied, lie could assure them that it would be an entirely different proposal to the one originally brought down by the Government. In view of the work that the organisation was doing all farmers should give it their loyal support, he added. The Government legislation was in the nature of a great experiment, which if successful would make history but if not successful would be disastrous, particularly to the primary producer, said Mr Polson. The Government was introducing legislation to do away with the capitalistic system. Personally he was not a socialist, but he had always stressed the necessity for amending tne capitalistic system, as otherwise it might crash. The Government in the Deserve Bank Act had handed over control of the bank to the State. That was the policy of the Farmers' Union and he had supported it, as he had always held that the Deserve Bank should be a State institution, doing the business of the nation fur the nation and with no private shareholders. In this Act, however, the Government had taken wider powers than had ever been taken anywhere in the world. Under it they could use the National credit for the development of the country or for auy other purpose. It it went far enough the Government could indulge in inflation to a very substantial degree. It might decide to use the credit of the bank to an extent not dreamed of. He, however, did not think it would as he did not think that Cabinet as constituted would rush into an orgy of expenditure that would bring thorn up with a round turn in a year or two. The power was there, however, and it was stupendous and lor that reason, while a supporter of th* State bank, he had opposed the legislation which made it a political bank. QUESTION OF INFLATION. He was not opposed to a certain amount of managed inflation provided it was handled by financial experts, but he was opposed to inflation carried out under political coutroh The Belgian Government had done some of the things that New Zealand was doing, but it did not do all the things. The prosperity of Belgium had been restored by that system of reasonable inflation and banking control. He hoped to see something of that kind done in New Zealand and was still hopeful that although the Government was socialistic it would allow private enterprise to handle the position. As a producer, Mr Polson was afraid that the Government’s policy of creating artificial prosperity would cause costs to rise. That was the reason the Government was experimenting with guaranteed prices to compensate for farmers’ costs. If New Zealand was a self-contained country he believed that could be done, but New Zealand was uot self-contained, and the trouble was that the value of world production had fallen two-thirds. The effect in America Lad been tremendous and despite various attempts to overcome it, the wage earner was worse off than he was a few years ago. From New Zealand the bulk of produce went abroad and the New Zealand producer had to take world parity i.nd therefore, under any system which uid pot provide for an artificial price iu New Zealand, they must be right up against it. The question, therefore, was whether under the guaranteed price they could so lift the price and ■lo it without unduly increasing costs and thus depriving the farmer of ths ocueflt of the guaranteed prices. HIGHER WAGES. The effect of the legislation so far brought down was to give higher wagei to the working man. High wages and a 40-hour week must increase costs and secondary industries would have to charge more for their products. Therefore those industries would ask for more protection. He did not oppose the 40-hour week. In fact he wished the farmers could get it. He considered that the effect of the legislation must mean increased costa to the farmer, who could not pass them on. The Farmers’ Union, instead of a guaranteed price, the feature of which they did not know, had asked for a compensated price, as an example on t> basis of lOd. for butterfat, which they had calculated at l/4Jd to ensure that the farmers’ price was adequate to meet the increased costs of production and on all his goods. The Farmers’ Union was giving very close attention to all the legislation that was coming down very fast in order to as far as possible safeguard the interests of the farmer. The Government was anxious to put its policy into operation as quickly as possible. In Parliament he voted with the Government in any matters that agreed with the principles advocated by the Farmers’ Union but voted against the Government where the legislation conflicted with the Farmers’ Union policy. Mr Polson said he was one of those that voted to advance step by step, knowing where each step was going to lend and for thnt reason, he would be found criticising the Government. The organisation of the Farmers' Union was fullv awake in seeing that the interest* of the primary producer- were i.nt lost sight of. n very valuable aspect of its activities. Mr FL E. Blyde, provincial president in the vour«e of bis address touched on the oro’">-'>l le-’isliitio’i nffc.-ting

confidences he could assure members that wages would be definitely fixed on a sliding basis according to the price the farmer received for his produce. The Government too, had been made to realise the impossibility of fixing honrs of work on farms as proposed. If such had been enforced it would have been found necessary to remove them after a short trial, but not before much harm had been done to farmers. He thought when the legislation was brought down farmers would find that as the results of the efforts of the organisation, it was vastly di Terent to what was orig¥ nnlly intended.