WAR WORK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12061, 17 July 1917, Page 4

WAR WORK.

NATIONAL ORGANISATION OF LABOUR. PROBLEM WELL IN HAND. [From Our Correspondent..! WELLINGTON, July 16. Though the Government hns been criticised for hesitation in tackling national organisation of labour power in a thorough-going way, it seems that Cabinet has only delayed because the subject is so important that 110 action can be taken without Parliament's approval. Speaking to a representative of tho "Star" to-night at the conclusion of a lengthy Cabinet meeting, Mr Massey endorsed Sir Joseph Ward's opinion that women would bq called upon to take a larger share of New Zealand men's work in future, though ho believed conditions in England and New Zealand wore not parallel, consequently the movement would take somewhat different lines. " The Government has national organisation well in hand," said Mr Massey, "but any radically important interference with the ordinary habits and employment of the people cannob be brought in by the Government without taking the people's representatives in Parliament into our fullest confidence beforehand and discussing how the policy will ho likely to affect the community. Parliament will be- asked to deal with the subject this session, for legislation is necessary. "We cannot absorb women in our great occupations as readily as in England, where the greater part of farm work is the feeding of stock for several months. It doesn't require skilled labour to prepare tho food, or look after the stock, hut in New Zealand our stock feed themselves all the year round. A tremendous lot _of wor ( k is done by English women in keeping down weeds during the spring and summer, also in hoeing crops, even handling ploughs, because tho old English plough houses know their work and seem to do almost anything except talk. Take New Zealand ploughing with a team of five horses and a three-furrow plough. It requires a man of experience to do it. No woman could manage such work. The conditions are not parallel, but New Zealand women are just as willing and anxious to do nil they can as tho women of England, nnd T quite believe we can. utilise them fuEv- JJ