ARMY FARM LABOUR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 7 January 1944, Page 4

ARMY FARM LABOUR

SCHEME WORKING WELL BONUSES PAID BY SOME PRODUCERS Welling ion. This Day. Four hundred men from the Central Military District were engaged on harvesting in December, a similar number .will be similarly occupied this month, and demands for Army labour have been received to cover up till April No complaints about the men's work, with one exception, have been received at district headquarters. On the other hand there are records: of general appreciation and of farmers paying the men a bonus in appreciation of their work. One Wairarapa tamper, when the gang had finished on his place, took them all to dinner at an hotel, and treated them in a manner that was an appropriate finish to hard toil in hot conditions. The one complaint was from a farming contractor, and it was strongly contested by farmers in the same district who had used similar labour. The men are drawn from those eligible for territorial service. They operate in most cases within a 20-mile radius of their particular camp, several temporary ones having been established to meet the situation. In a few cases where the farm is a long way from the camp the farmers billet the men. The pay to the men is the usual army rate of 7s 6d a day for privates, plus sixpence an hour up to eight hours, and thereafter overtime at 2s 6d ari hour. The farmer pays the Department of Agriculture 2s 6d an hour for each man. but the army feed and billet them. Where the farmer does the billeting a compensating adjustment is made. At first many farmers appeared shy of the scheme, but it seemed to advert tise itself as it went along, and the demands increased. In the Hawkes BayPoverty Bay district all the men available were fully occupied in December. In another area, 55 of the 60 men were kept going, the five doing elementary military training at their camp. The demand in the Taranaki district increased appreciably once things were properly under way. In this district one farmer paid the men an individual bonus of £2 for their good work. A few men. subject to the consent of their employers and the manpower officer, have volunteered for another 28 days’ country life. There is a big demand from the South Island and. as far as is known yet, every endeavour will be made to assist there to the fullest possible extent. Getting the men was n&t simple. While there were many to draw from, demands for their services were subject to the right of appeal, and it was a creditable piece of work to have all those required available at the stipulated time. The few men contacted expressed their satisfaction with the way the farmers had treated them and with the experience itself. They certainly were in no doubt about preferring it to elementary military training.