HARVEST CAMP LABOUR

Southland Times, Issue 25548, 16 December 1944, Page 4

HARVEST CAMP LABOUR

REDUCTION IN GORE DISTRICT In response to a request from Wellington that the number of men applied for for harvest camps should be cut down to a minimum, the executive of the Gore District Primary Production Council recommended that the council agree to the following reductions:—Gore, from 50 to 40; Waikaka, from 20 to 15; Riversdale, from 80 to 50; Heriot, from 30/40 to 30. The executive also recommended that the authorities be asked to establish camps by the second week in February and that Messrs J. H. Miller ■ (Gore), L. Paterson (Waikaka), A- Regan (Riversdale) and B. Chittock (Kelso) be appointed to act in liaison between the camp commandant and the farmers requiring labour. The recommendations were approved at a meeting of the council yesterday. Advice was received, in a letter from the Acting-Director of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture (Mr J. M. Smith) that, in view of the small number of men available from the Army this year and the lack of existing camps, these could not be established under a strength of 20 men. In another letter, he stated that some district committees in their estimates of Army harvesting labour appeared to have ignored the effect of releases of manpower and machinery to agriculture which occurred last year. The estimates of district committees of the demands on army labour were so large that it would not be possible to meet them in full. He stated that he was asking all Fields Division officers to consult with the committees in a revision of estimates from month to month.

“When demands are being made for labour in grain stores, it will be the duty of district councils to balance their requirements with harvesting needs,” stated the letter. “It will be the duty of district councils to adjudicate on the question of priorities in the harvesting fields and to what extent labour should be directed to threshing mills and to farmers. District committees should determine priorities in the supply of labour to farmers. For each camp, therefore, a suitable person should be appointed to act in liaison between the camp commandant and farmers requiring labour. The camp commandant will take no cognizance of any demands for harvest labour except through this person, who will represent the district committee concerned. District committees should see that military labour is not wasted.”