BRITISH FARMHANDS REFUSE TO WORK WITH POLES

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 October 1946, Page 5

BRITISH FARMHANDS REFUSE TO WORK WITH POLES

Recd. 10 p.m. London, Oct. 3. The National Union of Agricultural Workers has reaffirmed its opposition to the employment of Poles in British agriculture.

This decision again directs attention to the serious plight in which British farming is likely to find itself when the Government’s promise to repatriate the 133,000 German war prisoners working on the land in Britain is implemented. British farmers are being asKed by the Government to put another 250,000 acres under wheat for next season, and if they do this they must be able to count upon larger labour reserves than are available at present. The suggestion of Poles to replace Germans appeared to be a solution, but this is now quashed by the decision of the Agricultural Workers’ Union. It also leaves the Government to face a difficult problem: what to do with the 100,000 Poles who want to settle in Britain now that both the British farm workers and the British miners refuse to work alongside them? The British labour force on the land, including war prisoners and the Women’s Land Army, has already decreased by over 100,000 since the middle of last year.