LABOUR ON LAND

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19104, 27 August 1936, Page 5

LABOUR ON LAND

FARM WORKERS' BILL EXTENSION PROVIDED QUESTIONS TO MINISTER NEW MEASURE ON TRIAL (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. Though primarily intended to regulate conditions of work and of wages of, dairy farms, the Agricultural Workers' Bill could he extended to cover other classes of labour on the land. This point was made by the Minister of Labour, the. lion. .11. T. Armstrong, when he was moving the committal of the measure in the House of Representatives yesterday, and lie explained that horticultural workers were being included by means of an amendment. This was due to the request of orchardists. He was surprised, but they wanted to come in, and ho assumed that they preferred the bill to the possibility of being taken into the Arbitration Court. Mr. .7. McL. Roy (Nat., Clutha): This bill does not keep them out. The Minister agreed, but explained that if the industry came under the present bill, there would be a good case for exemption from the Arbitration Act and it's awards.

Mr. W. J. Poison (Nat., Stratford): Do you think there is .any justification for'this belief? COMMON AQREEMENT

The Minister replied that he woult! like to bring about a state of affairs where all farmers would mutually agree regarding conditions and wages, and thus keep out of the Arbitration Court altogether, for after all, an appeal to the court was only the last resort. As a matter of fact, when he was secretary of the Christehureh Tramways Union for many years, he never once went into the court.

Mr. Poison: The old dog got all he wanted. (Laughter). The Minister: Because I managed to do just ns well for the employees around the table, and I managed just as well with the fanners around the table on this bill.

"You put it over them," smilingly suggested Mr. Poison. The Minister added that he thought there could be no harm in taking power to add a clause that, by Order-in-Couneil, by mutual consent of both sides, other classes of farm workers could come under the present bill if they thought they would get a better deal under the bill than from the Arbitration Court. The whole measure was on 'trial. It might be necessary to amend anomalies if they arose.

After all, concluded the Minister, it was not going to take anything from any agricultural workers who were better off already in respect to wages an<J holidays, because the provisions in the measure were mitiimums.