CHEESE FACTORY WAGES.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1933, Page 3

CHEESE FACTORY WAGES.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —The several recent letters which have appeared in your columns on the above most vital subject have been exceedingly interesting, and I would be very grateful if you would allow me to add a few more points of view. I would like to highly commend “Onlooker” on his excellent letter, every word of which was perfectly true, and good, sound commonsense. Many of our cheese factories have very recently imposed a further 10 per cent, or 121 per cent, reduction in the wages of the staff. In factories where the recent 10 per cent, reduction has been made the scale of wages now stands at £4 3s. lOd. for first assistant, £3 19s. for second assistant (in factories of nine vats and over only), all other hands £3 ss. 9d. From these figures the wage tax has also to be deducted. For these moneys the factory employee is asked to work seven whole days of ten hours and longer, each week, month after month, throughout the year. Overtime is a thing unheard of, and no compensation whatsoever is allowed for Sundays, or any statutory holidays. And here I would like to stress this point. At a recent meeting of the Maketawa Dairy Company the chairman remarked that many men received allowances over and above their actual wages, such as free house, butter, milk and firing. Allow me to state that this is so only in the case of managers, who also receive a very much bigger wage than the factory hands. Also, have the directors imposed a reduction upon themselves? I think not. It has been interesting to note that in nearly every case the chairman's honorarium has been left the same as that of last year. During the past few months there has been much controversy about cheesemaking. and the quality of our New Zealand cheese. Granted, the employees are given good milk wherewith to work, these poorly paid factory employees hold the key to the quality of our cheese, and we would all feel proud indeed if we knew it was the best in the world. Is it fair to ask these men to work ten hours and over each day, seven, days in every week, month after month, and expect them to put their heart and soul into their work, give the very best that their brains and strength are capable of, for such a mere pittance, for only such can it be named? Most decidedly, I think it is grossly unjust and unfair. How many farmers toil hard all day on Sunday? Very few indeed. Also, if a farmer desires to have a day s outing, he is perfectly at liberty to do so, and how many wet days does he spend resting by the fire, or sleeping on his bed? Yet in spite of all this, one director at a recent meeting rose and said that if the factory employees did not put their best into their work on account of the low wages, they were dishonest. It is not a case of dishonesty, but one of fair play and justice. Would that supplier be happy to take his coat off and work happily and heartily ten hours each day all the year round in steam and heat for £3 ss. 9d. per week, minus tax, and support himself, wife, and several Children on that wage? Another question raised is whether the suppliers are going to benefit by this further cut. One would not perhaps mind so much if they -were, but it is only a drop in the ocean, and, further, the Government will lose considerably, as there will be less shillings going into the unemployment fund. The Government seems to be doing its utmost to help the farmers at present, so I think the farmers should be grateful, and help, not hinder the Government. Also prices seem to be on the upward move, so why reduce wages? What other body of labourers is asked to work the same hours as our dairy factory employees for such low wages? None! The unemployed man works only eight hours for his 10s. per day. The dairy factory employee is allowed no time for business transactions, or for bis garden, which I claim is a necessity of life, or for the less important things such as pleasure and sport, of which everyone does love a little share. Very, very often it is even too dark for the factory employee to see to cut his wood when he comes home. I make an appeal to all directors of our cheese factories to restore the cut, with a big hope that they will give this matter their most earnest ‘ and honest consideration.—l am, etc., “JUSTICE.”

Sir, —It was with a great deal of interest that I read in your issue of Tuesday the report of the discussion on the above subject at the annual meeting of the Maketawa Dairy Company. In this Mr. J. Brown, the chairman, is reported as having said: “If the directors were to pay a penny a pound butterfat less than other companies through not imposing the cut the suppliers would complain,” meaning, presumably, that by imposing the recent cut on wages a saving equal to a penny a pound would be made. During the discussion it was disclosed that the cut would result in an amount of £llO being saved on the wages bill. I would like to ask Mr. Brown how he is going to make a pay-out of a penny per lb. of butterfat supplied with this amount. Surely, he must be a wizard of finance. But, no, he cannot claim to that title, for we see that with an amount of £21,748 he was able to pay only 7.69 d. per lb. of butterfat. If, as reported, the 10 pei- cent, cut represents a saving of £llO, then the total wages paid by Mr. Brown's company would be £llOO. According to Mr. Brown’s statement, this sum would be sufficient for a pay-out of lOd. per lb. to each supplier, and 1 feel sure that if the staff of his company were approached and guaranteed double wages if he could produce even a half-penny per lb. with the amount of total wages (£1100) they would gladly work the season for no salary whatever. Why did not Mr. Brown state exactly what the extra pay-out would be through the cut in wages? The truth is it would be so immaterial as not to affect the payout whatever, for, if £llO were distributed among the suppliers of his company the average amount per month each supplier would receive would be no more than 35., or approximately 1-33 pence per pound of butterfat. I venture to predict that when comparisons of various companies’ pay-outs are being made this time next year, those companies which did not apply the cut will have had a higher payment than those companies which did apply it. This result. will be achieved because where there is contentment in employment there will also be the right results. We also learn from Mr. Brown that ■‘some of the men receive a free house, butter, milk and firewood.” If his company treats others than the manager in this way, then his is the only company I know of that does so, and I must congratulate him upon it. A few seasons back the mad race for yield nearly ruined our cheese industry, and now it appears we are in for a similar result through, each company striving to get below its neighbour in working costs. Instead of directors insisting on their managers keeping 'working costs down without regard to quality a saner policy would be to forget all about working costs and leave well alone. At the present time one can see in our factories as many as 13 and more cheeses being made in each vat. This is done to keep the size of the staff and economise (?) in wages. Any cheesemaker will agree that to do justice to that quantity is impossible, and that each vat should not contain more than from eight to ten cheeses. It is a significant fact that when a manager makes show cheese the limit to each vat is usually eight, and often under that. Before concluding, let me congratulate those suppliers of the Maketawa Dairy Company who brought up the question of

salary cuts, and also those suppliers of the Cardiff Dairy Company who were successful in having a recommendation carried that the cut be not applied. Let us hope that other companies will follow suit, and where the cuts have been imposed abolish them and keep a steadfast policy of quality first. —I am, etc., “ONLOOKER.” Hawera, August 31.