Farmers Want Increases Under Stabilisation

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 March 1947, Page 5

Farmers Want Increases Under Stabilisation

Important Decisions at Conference Revealed (Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 8 By deciding to demand that farm prices should be increased sufficiently to place farmers on the same basis as other sections of the community, including payment for work necessarily done on Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays, Federated Farmers have agreed on a course of action which is expected to have enormous effects on the economic position in New Zealand. The results of a review of stabilisation made by members of the Dominion council of the organisation, meeting in Wellington, are now known.

At that conference the burden imposed upon .the farming community by stabilisation, when it was said there were breaches of the stabilisation policy on behalf of other industries, was discussed seriously in detail. The Dominion president, Mr. W. W. Mulholland stated that th e organisation now hud to give serious consideration to the relations ot farmers with stabilisation. He contended that the Government had broken faith regarding stabilisation and said th e farmers had no moral or legal obligations to continue with the stabilisation agreement of 1942. However, continued Mr Mulholland, farmers* must accept some moral obligation to the country and give some notice if decided against continuing the agreement. The conference passed a resolution asserting that the Federated Farmers demand that farm prices should be increased sufficiently to place farmers on the same basis as other sections of th e community, including payment for work necessarily done on Saturdays, Sundays and Statutory holidays. By the same resolution the Dominion Council decided to establish a committee to confer with the Meat and Dairy Boards, to make a public statement and to continue to work with the boards in presenting the farmer’s case to the Governmc.-t and the public. Tile federation intends also to define its attitude to increased labour rewards in submissions to the Arbitration Court when the claim for an over-all wage increase is being heard. This is a claim in which trade unions specially are interested. Lately, for example, the Ngahauranga freezing workers pledged lull support to the Labour Federation’s attempt to gain the full £l. It was decided also that the union should consider further action if the claim is not fully granted.