VIEWS ON CURRENT TOPICS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1933, Page 9

VIEWS ON CURRENT TOPICS

FACTORY WAGES AGAIN REDUCED-

“EXPLOITATION OF WORKERS-”

(To the Editor.)

Sir—ln view of the recent correspondence in the Daily News with reference to the wages of dairy factory employees I think it only right that the pubuc should know what has recently occurred in some of our factories. Not . content with the two previous reductions in wages that were fairly general throughout the province a certain North Taranaki directorate recently imposed upon its workers (excluding the factory manager, who gets a free house and other perquisites while the rest of the staff have to pay rent for their quarters and buy all they get from the factory) an additional wages cut of no less than 25 per cent, the reduction to take effect as from September 1, 1933. _ This totally unwarranted action, which is nothing more or less than an exploitation of the workers, is all the more unjustifiable in view of the fact that the factory is the Centre of some of the richest and best land in the province. For your personal information as a guarantee of good faith I enclose the name, of the factory’. This is not the only, instance,. although as far as I know it is the most glaring. There are other factories at which the same policy is being pursued. It is time the public was made aware of what is going on. Perhaps the fact that the directorate of the particular factory mentioned made a bad sale has something to do with the reductions. To dispose of the August, September and part of the October make of butter at 9jd was hardly a good stroke of business in view of the price butter is fetching to-day. But even that is surely no justification for the action of the directors.—l am, etc.,

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED.