FARM LABOUR SHORTAGE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3842, 4 December 1936, Page 7

FARM LABOUR SHORTAGE

ACUTE POSITION REVEALED. DEPUTATION TO MINISTER OF LABOUR. GOVERNMENT CONCERNED AND SYMPATHETIC. A very representative assemblage oi farmers —representative of practically every part of the Te Awamutu district —attended at the Borough Council chambers on Thursday afternoon to meet the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, Minister of Labour, in the course of his tour of the South Auckland districts to hear at first hand representations concerning the alleged shortage of farm labour. With Mr Armstrong wer«> Messrs C. A. Barrell, M.P. for Hamilton, and S. N. Ziman, president of the Waikato sub-provin-cial executive of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union. They had been occupied during the morning and early afternoon at Morrinsville hearing similar representations, and discussing several other matters concerning the farming industry. Arrival at 2 p.m. was anticipated, but it was well on the way to 4 p.m. ere the Ministerial party arrived. His Worship the Mayor, Mr G. Spinley, several Councillors and Mr A. T. Bryant (president) and several executive members of the Te Awamutu branch of the Farmers’ Union, received the Minister. MAYORAL WELCOME. Mr Spinley, at the outset, apologised for the unavoidable absence of Mr W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., who had telephoned from New Plymouth early in the morning expressing his regrets. The Mayor also pointed out that several farmers of various parts of the district had desired to hear the Minister clear up knotty points, but they had had their dairying duties to attend to and therefore had proceeded home. However, the Farmers’ Union branch, which had sponsored the visit, was well represented, and all present were glad that the Minister had found time to come to Te Awamutu. They felt he really desired to help them overcome some of the difficulties confronting them. Mr Bryant said the Farmers’ Union executive felt they had quite a good case to set before the Minister. They had collected data that should be informative. There were many necessitous cases where shortage of labour was the factor. The wherewithal of farmers was menaced, for under present conditions all depended upon successful farming, and if labour was not available there could only be failure. Farming must be made profitable and prosperous. There was a desire to see the younger generation encouraged to follow farming pursuits, and he asked the Minister to do everything possible to foster that desirable end. Mr C. J. Flay quoted the cases of nine farmers in various parts of the district, all of whom were embarrassed by labour shortage. He proceeded to enumerate the particulars in each case. In one case two experienced farm hands had left last week to get better money elsewhere. The employer had inquired and advertised for other men, but had not applied to the Hamilton placement officer, as he had been informed by a neighbour that there were ninety applications ahead of him. The employer had an injured leg, and his wife, though ill, had had to assist in the shed. That man had never been short of labour, so it was evident he was not a hard taskmaster. Another instance was quoted of a farmer offering £2 7s 6d for a man or £2 5s for a youth, and getting no response. In another case a man supplied from the placement office had stayed a few days, then left to go harvesting—where there was better money, even though the job was strenuous. Instances were quoted where herds of 60, 70, 80 and even 100 cows had had to be milked by the farmer and his wife, in sickness or otherwise. Mr Flay added that it seemed to him the men preferred any other work to farm labour. Conditions had been made more and more attractive, but so were conditions in other occu pations. It was essential to have labour for dairy farms, or production would be decreased. PROOF OF LABOUR SHORTAGE. Mr G. T. Crawley followed with a list of 27 other farmers, one or two of them women, who could not get labour. In his own district he had found that six farmers were t now being assisted in the sheds by their wives. Then he told of a case where the employer had had to enter hospital, whereupon the farm employee had told the wife that she must pay £5 per week or he would leave. Mr Crawley added that surely anyone would concede that £5 per week for farm work was extortionate. In another case while the farmer was in hospital his wife had carried on the milking with the assistance of two girls from a neighbouring farm, who had undertaken the work in the emergency. In a third case two men had been secured from the placement office, but one of them arrived at the farm in a drunken condition, and was refused employment. That employer had been paying £2 10s per week and “found." Another case cited was that of a herd of 70 cows. The two men employed left the job, and the employer milked the whole herd for a week, and then in desperation reduced it to 40. Another herd of 100 cows had been reduced to 63. An offer of 35s per week for a youth, with bonuses for haymaking, had failed to elicit even an inquiry. One farmer present told of milking a herd of 150 two years ago, but owing to difficulty in getting labour the herd was reduced last year to 120, and down to 60 this year. Two men employees had left without the usual notice, and at a very inconvenient time, and they were both nowemployed on public works. At this stage Mr Ziman assured the Minister that Te Awamutu district troubles are not peculiar to this district. It obtained everywhere though perhaps not so severely.

“ALIVE TO THE POSITION.” The Minister, before replying directly, said he highly appreciated the welcome accorded him, and was greatly interested in the many evidences of sincerity on the part of the farmers. Such a problem should concern any Government, for if there was a slump or scarcity of useful farm labour it would react on the whole oi the

population. He had sought to contact with representatives of the farmers, so that he could realise the real posi tion. He was not a tyro in farming matters, even though he represented a city constituency. The position in the dairying districts was serious—even more serious than he had anticipated. Perhaps it would be possible to supply a number of young fellows willing to learn farming. But there were practically no experienced men available—unless they were “rooted out" of other occupations that they had entered after leaving farming. He agreed sincerely that the farmers had had a “rough spin” in recent years. Prices had been so low that farmers had had to do without labour, but now that prices were better farmers wanted the men back again. But the best men had gone to other- callings that were more suitable to them. Farm work had not been sufficiently attractive to get that class of men back again. And one could not absolutely blame them, continued the Minister, it they thought they could better themselves. Waikatc- was the greatest dairying district in the whole Dominion, and he and his fellow members of the Government were fully alive to meeting the difficulties. Mr Bryant had said be was thinking of the future of the industry if the present labour shortage was not eased. That was quite right. There should be evolved some system of training youths to be available for future years. MEN ON SUSTENANCE. The Minister went on to remark that the average farmer asked why the Government was increasing sustenance payments and thus keeping men in the cities and towns. The answer to that was simple: Many of the men now on sustenance were not the type of men that the'farmer wanted. Actually there were approximately 24,090 men on sustenance who were rendering no compensatory return for the payments they received. The Government was blamed for increasing the number. But since he had become Minister of Labour he had found that there were very many men physically incapable of working. Then there were 8000 more to participate in sustenance benefits. No provision had been made for them by previous Governments. The present Government allowed them to register. Previously they had been maintained by friends or relatives—in any case, however they lived, or existed, it was not by grants from the Government. That was changed now. Some 6000 to 8000 others were certified by doctors as unfit for anything but light duties. Thus there was not such a serious unemployment problem after all. Certainly, it was not as bad as when the Labour Government took office. There are between 15,000 and 16,000 fewer people on the unemployment roll to-day, despite the fact that 8000 new ones had been placed on sustenance. There was, he pointed out, about 8000 men on the No. 5 scheme. Perhaps some of these men might be fit for farm jobs, and they could be diverted to working for farmers. A start in that direction had' been made with the farm camp at Morrinsville. It was desirable to train youths to become proficient far n«ers. Mr W. McGill: Are there enough young fellows available? We are in difficulties all over this district for our harvesting, and there is a great scarcity of farm hands. The Minister: I believe there will be many young fellows from the tech nical colleges at the end of the term; many of them will go into secondary Industry, but surely many can be attracted to the farms? You must compete for them. Pay a youth what he is worth to you. The Flock House trained young fellows, and they became efficient. They were actually apprenticed to practical farmers. I think a somewhat similar scheme should work out all right. Legislative provision exists for apprentices to farming. Continuing, Mr Armstrong said if it was definite that men are leaving farm jobs to go harvesting he wanted farmers’ co-operation in correcting the tendency. But the Government is definitely not going to lower the standard of living in other occupations just to please the farmers. That standard will be beneficial to the farmers, as was obvious to the thinking man.

Mr McGill told of personal experiences. He had been trying to get a permit to employ a semi-disabled man at wages below the minimum. He added that many farmers would be glad to find jobs for such men at, say, 30s per week, doing odd jobs. There must be a proportion of farm workers who could not earn the minimum wages. The Minister said any inspector could issue permits for Infirmity etc., if the worker is favourable. Provision appears in the Agricultural Emergency Act. Mr McGill said he had waited two months for a reply. The worker had himself applied for the permit. Meantime he was continuing to employ the man in anticipation ot the permit; but if it was refused he would be liable for back pay. The Minister said an under-rate worker’s permit could be obtained from the inspector. Referring to ragwort, the Minister said the work of eradication had already cost the country a great deal of money. But it could not be denied that some farmers were not playing the game fairly. They had been using the ragwort men on all sorts of jobs. Consequently the Government had got the county councils to take charge, and he believed that good work was now being done. (Hear, hear.) Of course the plan could be further improved. Ragwort Is like an invading army, and it would appear to be necessary to oppose it with an army to chase it back again. One county council had said that it could not afford to face the cost of the Government’s scheme. The offer from the Department had thereupon been increased, and this offer was accepted. A regular little army of men was needed to squash out the menace. Mr Jepson asserted that activity was commenced too late in the season. July and August were the most effective months. The Minister: And that is the time when most men are available, too. Mr Bryant said the farmers were fully in accord with the Minister’s desires. They must have their cows milked. Practically every farm, well managed, should have an extra man on. it. The Minister: That is my idea. Mr Bryant: But the rising costs of all commodities prevent us paying much more than the bare minimum wage. He added that he believed the farm camps would do a lot of good; and that farmers are quite prepared to train young men for the country’s benefit, provided the farmer is given some consideration. Some form of apprenticeship should be possible, as in other callings. As to ragwort eradi

ration, he personally believed the Minister intends to tackle it the right way. The Minister next referred to the very serious shortage of houses in New Zealand, and asserted that it would take time to get the Government’s plan under way. The farming community is not to ~e left out of n. by any means. He forecasted provision of cottages on farms for married couples. To keep men satisfied was a pretty serious problem for farmers—especially those who have mortgages. If a £5OO house was erected on a 100 acre farm that means a charge of £5 per acre added to the existing mortgage. The Government had offered to loan money to the dairy companies at 3 per cent, and he believed they would borrow to erect homes for their employees, and perhaps extend it to provide for milkers’ cottages. When the housing scheme is in working order he thought a cottage could be provided for £lOO to £2OO less than the present cost, as a result of mass pro duction in the State factories. He had become convinced that the average man with a family would be better off on a farm than on a Public Works job. Mr J. Maxwell: But you wouldn’t lend to individual farmers at 3 per cent? The Minister: We could do that, though naturally we prefer to lend to, say, dairy companies. Mr Montefiore: Yes, you want the dairy companies to take the responsi bility oi repayment! The Minister, continuing, said his endeavour was to make the cost ol building cheaper. And in that con neetion, what is the matter with using the nation’s credit? Mrs F. J. Ry burn: 1 think it an excellent idea to provide funds for erecting milkers’ cottages on farms. We are convinced many men with families would like to remain on the farms, but up to now the conditions were against them. To a remark by Mr Sharp, the Min ister said any man employed on public works can go harvesting for three months, and know that his job is open for him at the end of the period. The Hon. Mr Semple made that statement only a few days ago. If, as Mr Sharp suggested, men on public works were debarred from filling in their holiday time with haymaking, there was some misunderstanding somewhere. He was positive the men could do so; in fact the Government welcomed that, and would encourage the men to seek such work. They could go back as usual to public works. The whole position was being steadily improved. Things might easily have been worse. Mr J. S. Duncan congratulated the Minister upon his reference to farm cottages. He hoped the scheme would be enlarged to make money even cheaper for borrowers. Ragwort was a terrible scourge in some districts, and he suggested that Cawthron Institute should be subsidised appreciably to permit of intensive research to evolve a parasite such as the cacto blastic that had rid huge areas in Queensland of the prickly pear. He could see no way of checking ragwort other than by a natural enemy. The only hope for security lies along those lines. The chairman said Mr Armstrong had shown himself entirely sympa thetic to the farming industry, and he thanked him for coming to Te Awamutu. The Minister, replying, said he greatly appreciated the very reasonable way in which the farmers' problems had been presented to him in Te Awamutu. The Labour Government represents the farmers—as was evident by the votes cast at the last election, even if there are not many farmers included in the Cabinet. Continuing, the Minister said the wage earner is in a position to strike when conditions do not suit him; but this the farmer cannot do. The Government was keenly interested in improving the conditions of the far mers, and sincere in its efforts to make a success of the job that had been taken in hand. To succeed they must have the co-operation of the farmers. He was glad to meet the farmers of Te Awamutu district. It had been stated, added Mr Armstrong, that the average hours of work on the farms was 87 per week. If that was so, it was not surprising that the average farm hand is a bit shy of taking on jobs. However, his departmental inspectors had told him that very few farmers attempt to work their employees for 87 hours weekly; it is more like 65. The meeting was nearing its close, and Mr Ziman told those present that rhe Waikato sub-provincial executive would be in conference with the Minister to-day on some of the more intricate problems of the job. A hearty vote of thanks to the Minister was acocrded by acclamation. Replying, Mr Armstrong said he hoped he had made it clear that wives of farm workers who may be required to work in the milking shed must first obtain a permit; but that is easily obtained. He had enjoyed meeting the Te Awamutu district farmers, and hoped that the information exchanged would be mutually beneficial