FARMING INDUSTRY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 56, 7 March 1942, Page 3

FARMING INDUSTRY

NOT TO BE DECLARED ESSENTIAL DIFFK’I LTIES EMPHASISED. (P.A.* Wellington. March 6. A decision that at present it was undesirable and impracticable to declare farming an essential industry under the National Service Emergency Regulations was made at a conference of representatives of interested parti<-s and the Government. 'i ms was reveaied by the Dominic secretary of the New Zealand Earn ers’ Union. Mr. A. P. O Shea, in rep to questions to-aay. Al the conieience were the Assoc -Minister oi National Service, Ho D. Wilson, the Minister of Agricultur Hon. J. G. Barclay, representatives < New Zealand Workers Union. Shoe owners’ Federation, and Farmei Union. It was fully agreed, said Al O’Shea, that farming was an essenti. industry from a national point < view, and labour must be made avai a’ole for it. but there were numeroi ditliculties in the way of declaring 11 industr> essential under the regul; tions. Ditliculties that did not exi in the case of secondary industries. Seasonal workers, who made up considerable proportion of far labour, and were not continuously en ployed on anv one farm, were 11 r<-ai major difficulty. It was ah stated that if a man wanted to leave farm any attempt to retain him 1 fone could only bring unsatisfactoi results. For one thing, relationsh >el • • en the employer and worker w; much more personal on a farm th;i in a factory and a dissatisfied work< could not well be left to handle an mals The meeting was assured th; the Government would do all it cou to help solve farmers' problems.