ORGANISERS' REPORTS.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 9, Issue 349, 16 January 1918, Page 8

ORGANISERS' REPORTS.

AH organisers are urged to post Beports for the Country Workers' Page in order to secure delivery by Wednesday of each week at latest. A. J. Middlemiss, East Gore, reports (31/12/17): "Since I last wrote I have been around Kelso and Heriot. At Wilden Station there is trouble over Clause 2 of the present award. The manager. Young, interprets the clause as allowing him to work the men any old hours so long as he doesn't exceed 48 hours and 20 minutes in any one week. He is working Bine hours a day and paying the shed bands 1/5 an hour, and with a full week (which they have had only twice since November 20) he stops shearing at the ridiculous hour of 9 a.m. on Saturdays. In this way he beats the men for some sheep each day they work, as most men are done at the

usual hour of knocking off, and tbe extra 20 minutes is only agony to most ot them. I contend that, this is a breach of tbe award, and .would like a legal opinion taken on it. I arranged with the boys at Wilden to join the A.P.U. through their rep., who had tickets. At McKenzie's at Dunrobin, the three men were financial. At Glenkenick I called at Mr. McGilvray's, where I found the cockie and his permanent man hard at work trying to cut out at 5.40 on Saturday evening. The cookie's man refused to join, and I had to inform the pair of them that they were both breaking the award. I suppose now they are discussing the question of a general boycott of union agitators. I have found it a common thing, by the way, when cockies were helping one another to see them tearing the wool in a fashion which would gain any shearer his travelling ticket. At Logan's Estate at Kelso shearing operations were over. p,S.—-The following are the hours worked at Wilden: Morning tea, 4.45 a.m.; start work, 5 a.m.; breakfast, from 7 to 8 a.m.; smoko from 9.45 to 10.15 a.m.; dinner, 12 noon to 1 p.m.; smoko, 2.45 p.m. to 3.15 p.m.; knock off at 5 p.m. Tea at 5.30 and supper at 8 p.m. The cook refused to take a ticket on the ground that the award wage was insufficient. He considered £4 weekly should have been the minimum, with a gradation to £6 according to the number of men to be cooked for." sp * # * J. Townsend reports from Aramoho (3/1/18): —"Have had a rough spin this last week. Got back to Karaoi and no sooner had I mounted the motor than it rained. At Rangrataus, where there were four shearers, I left tickets with Alex. Mathieson. To reach McDonnell's I had to get a horse at the Maori Pah. Found the lads nearly all financial. I arrived at Craig's in the wet, but will have to call again, as the start was made next day. Will I do this when I am going throve.li a few more small sheds up there. I yot stuck in the mud about five miles out of Taihape, left the bike at a plough camp, walked on to Collins , , stopped there the night and got one member, the rest being financial. Rode to Taihape in the morning, and when I neared Moawhango it rained a torrent. On it clearing up, I pushed on to Oruawatua. It rained, but I got all hands here who were unfinaucial. At Erewhon, where the majority were A.P.U. members, I got two shearers and the same number of shedhands. I did not go to Mangaohane, as the river was up and the road was too far round. I have a couple of sheds near Waitotara to do, and will then get a horse and do the back country to Karaoi. Will then be finished up. Enclosed is £9." <SS eg* 7$ A. Cook reports from Omoera Station in the Gisborne district (2/1/18): ''Since last report, I have visited the following stations: Wairere, Temohoko, Tangihau, Tahora, Waimaha, and Omoera. At Wairere, Temohoko, and Tahora the majority came in, but the other three places had very shoddy crowds. At Waimaha the Maori boss and his wife were the only ones to join, and at Omoera only the Maori boss signed on. At Tahora I struck H. S. Findson, who is doing good work for the A.P.U. He had all hands enrolled bar five Maoris and one white. We succeeded in getting three of the Maoris, but the white proved to be too hard. He "will take a ticket if he comes out next year, etc." The old, old story. Nuf sed. I have sent my interpreter through to Wairoa on the Waerenga-o-kuri road, and I go through Nuhaka. I expect to finish on Saturday, 6th inst, as most sheds are cut out down here. The Maori workers are pleased to hear that the A.W.U. has been preventing its members from coming to New Zealand to take the place of N.Z. Workers who are conscripted into the firing line. Australians are to be congratulated on their glorious victory over the Conscriptionists. It will be interesting to watch the next move of the imported Welshman, W. M. Hughes.' * * * * . "' W. Boone reports from Fairlie (4/1/18): —"The weather has been bad in this part of the world, and a motor break-down has held things up somewhat. At Haldon, W. Skelton, the rep., had all the work done. Only seven shearers are there, who have about another week's shearing to do. They are getting two pairs of shears to the 1000, but the sheep are rough and hard. Grayshills has just started. Three shearers commenced 'operations, but seven are on the board now. The shed hopes.to fill up later. The sheep being extra hard, they are getting 30/-, two pairs of shears to the 1000, while some of the shearers are getting their fares both ways. T. C. Downs is rep, and he has tickets and ballot papers. Streamland was cut (out, but I struck the men at Curraghmore. The manager at Streamland only paid the picker-up £2 a week and the presser £2/10/-, so I paid him a visit and explained that he was committing a breach of award. He told mc to send them over to be paid in full. He was paying the picker-up £1/10/- short and the presser 7/6. At Curraghmore only four shearers and two shedhands were working. Enclosed is £5 from this place. Of course, I am getting a few straggling quids in addition." % * ip $r & From a notebook belonging to our late comrade, E. Kennedy, the fol-

lowing notes are taken: "At Haylands met men from Ensor's Rakahuri Station. Six shearers, 4000 sheep, blades, Glenrock and Double Hill to follow. Two shedhands. All took tickets, except one shearer, who was a member of two other unions. No complaints. At Glentui, the boss refused to let mc see the men, but asked mc to have a cup of tea. At Warren shed, four shearers, blades, 5000 sheep. Two joined. At the Oxford Shearing Co.'s shed four shearers promised to join with the rep. Two refused. The shedhands refused too, as the shed is not bound by the award. Fleecies 35/-; jpressers, 35/- and 50/-. Six stands here, 16,000 sheep, machines. At Monk's two shearers refused to be men. Across the Waimak. to Waddington, where I visited T. Innis' shed. The three shearers were all members. Cockies were shedhands. At Dale Thorpe, of the five shearers, the Maori had a ticket. The presser joined, the rest would not. The boss, Mr. Anderson, was a good sort, and everything on the place was satisfactory. At Morven they all refused to take tickets, but I got £3 from the Innis men. The men at Whitecliffs promised to join next shed." From November 27 to December 5, the period covered by above report, Mr. Kennedy visited a large number of other small sheds, where the shearing was either finished or was being done by cockies, who were the reverse of sympathetic with the A.P.U.