COUNTRY LABOUR ITS ORGANISA-TION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14156, 7 March 1908, Page 14

COUNTRY LABOUR ITS ORGANISATION.

Sib,—An address on this subject at-Milton by Mr A. R. Barclay, M.P., has just come under my notice. It may he as well. to reply to specious nonsense such as Mr Barclay talked, (hough I have no doubt most of the farm labourers at Milton aro too hard-headed (o lie deluded by it.

His -first point is that 100\000 people engaged in rural pursuits produced £22,000.030 worth of produce last year, or £220 per head; and ho implies that each farm labourer's share should havo been £220. Now, without talcing into consideration that last year was an exceptionally prosperous one, not, likely to be equalled for for some time, it is obvious that all rent, interest, and expenses other than wages should' bo deducted from the £22,000,000 before it is available for dislribution.

Mr Barclay's next point is that unorganised labour is always the worst paid, and ho urged his 'rearers to organise at once. Now, the fuel, is that unorganised country labour has, in the last 15 years, improved' lis -position more than any other class of labour in this country. Wages have risen at least 20 p»r cent, on the average. The cost of living, according to Mr Barclay, has risen'from 25 per cent.'"to 100 per cent,, say an average of 50 per cei)t. This means that if the board and lodging .of a farm labourer'cost his.'.employer 10.5 per week 15 years ago, it now costs him 15sper week. In other words, it means a rfeo of 5s per week in the', labourer's .pay. Further, the accommodation 1 he gets, though perhaps not perfect yet, is hotter than it- was, while his work is certainly no harder and holidays arc more frequent. The best Mr Earelay claims for organised labour is that wages have increased 8j- per cent, and expenses havo increased 50 per cent., so that the organised worker is much worse- off than before; while the country labourer's wages have increased by 20 per cent., his food, which costs more, is ttill found for him, and his conditions of labour are certainly no worse. It. is possible that my assertion that wages have risen 20 per cent, may be challenged. Of course, it is not easy to get' exact figures, but take one or two of the ordinary,'classes of farm labourers. Common ploughmen used to get 17s 5d per week, loading men about 22s 6d; now they can easily get 22s oil to 503 respectively. Boys got about 7s 6d per week, and now get 15s and Is 6tl; while all other classes havo secured increases. Kven if wages had remained stationary the farm labourer would still havo the advantage, as on Jlr Barclay's own showing the town workers' lot is worse than it. was 15 years ago. That thero is poverty in New Zealand is sadly true, but there is little or none of it in the country. As Mr Barclay says, it. is prevalent in the towns where practically, all the labour is, organised. Mr Barclay's theories about the future solution of labour problems may or may not be right; hi 6 facts aboul the present state of affairs aro all wronfi.I am, etc., Clinton, March 4.

Jakes Begg.