THE SHORTAGE OF FARM LABOUR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24336, 28 June 1940, Page 5

THE SHORTAGE OF FARM LABOUR

ro THE EDITOK Sir —Non-compliance with the conditions of the Farm Accommodation Act 1908, has a great deal to do with the present rural complaint concerning a farm labour shortage In far too manv instances the accommodation consists of merely a sparsely furnished hut which sometimes is no! very weather worthy. There are no water pipes when water could be laid on, no bath nor shower; there is only hall a kerosene tin or oil drum to wash in, and water is carted and stored in a receptacle of this kind, in which also clothes have to be washed, and the only clothes line is a barbed-wire fence. Moreover there is no sanitary convenience whatever —in short, a genuine country slum. Add an employer’s habit, which is far too common, of neglecting to metal the stable yard—where metal is available —and is it any wonder that an employee, in wet weather, becomes dissatisfied with mucking about in the mud every time he goes into the place? There are still farmers who provide indifferent quality food and cooking. It is difficult to arrive at any conclusion regarding these conditions except, especially in the case of a well-to-do employer, that the employer’s motive in so acting is actuated by a spirit of obstinate, intolerant, snobbish contempt for the wage-earner. A farm labourer works longer hours for less pay than any other type of

worker. Too many prosperous farmers refuse to give permanent employment to married men or, when they do, too many stipulate “no encumbrances,” and give the wife a job, too. The individual adoption of this attitude towards married employees is the antithesis of the Farmers’ Union’s declared policy of advocating immigration and periodically expressing concern about the declining birth-rate. Locking out the family man is an invitation to young, competent farm workers and prospective farm workers to retaliate with the boycott. Rural life, to be successful, requires the right type of mentality, and the country is the natural breeding ground for it. A vocation in which the majority- of the employers refuse to employ permanently any but - single men has a genuine attraction only for the lad who wishes to gain experience and at the same time save money, with the object of eventually becoming a farmer himself, and for the thrifty chap who knows the value of money and does not mind loneliness. If possible, most of the other types boycott farm employment. Those enlightened farmers who provide reasonable all-round conditions and employ permanently either married men or bachelors, and treat them as civilised human beings, invariably obtain and retain the services of competent employees—l am, etc.. Cave Canem. Oamaru, June 22.