POPULARITY OF MEASURE

Southland Times, Issue 22991, 10 September 1936, Page 6

POPULARITY OF MEASURE

Farmers’ Approval Claimed SUFFICIENT SUPPLY OF MEN NO PROTEST AGAINST - BILL (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, September 9. “I believe that this is the most popular measure from the farmers’ point of view that has ever come before this Parliament, or any other,” said the Minister of Labour (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong), in replying to the debate on the Agricultural Workers Bill in the House of Representatives to-night. “Not only have there been no protests against it, but farmers who have been excluded from its operation have expressed a desire to be brought in. Referring to a complaint by Opposition members that men would be leaving farms to go on public works, the Minister said that when the public works were fully supplied and all other branches of industry had their quota, there would still be enough workers in New Zealand to provide labour for farms. The public works, in fact, had now just about reached the maximum number of men they could absorb. Replying to a suggestion that the Bill would mean the pressing into service of women and children on dairy farms, Mr Armstrong said that there always had been farmers who would use their wives and families to keep down wages costs, but they were in the minority. Legislation was needed only to keep the most unscrupulous farmers in check. Wages Paid Last Year.

“With very few exceptions, farmers welcome the Bill,” added the Minister, “and they know how to protest if they don’t like anything. A good many farmers paid the wages provided for in the Bill last year when butterfat was at lid, so surely it will be easier-for them to do so when they are getting 1/1 for butterfat.” In reply to Opposition complaints about a shortage of labour on dairy farms, Mr Armstrong said that in the last six months over 6000 people had been placed in permanent employment through the Labour Department’s placement scheme. One of the officers of his department had told him that there had been very little difficulty in supplying farm labour when it was asked for. „ “Who were the objectors to the Bill?” asked the Minister. “Evidence was given when the measure was before the Labour Bills Committee, but although 99 per cent, of the farmers of New Zealand probably knew of the proceedings, the only ones who gave evidence against the Bill were those who did not come within its scope. They protested because they were left out.” The Minister referred to a statement made by Mr C. A. Wilkinson (Ind., Egmont) that the farm labourers should have been consulted before the agreement was made with the Farmers’ Union. Farm labourers had had an opportunity also of coming before the committee, said Mr Armstrong, but they had not done so. He had discussed the matter with the officers of the New Zealand Workers’ Union, who had a wide knowledge of every class of farming, and they had had no complaint to make.