instead of the present number of three. In all this Mr Tutaki took an active part. He was already then the Union's representative among the shearers of Hawkes Bay. He was in the deputation that saw the Farmers Federation and later the Minister of Labour. Until 1920, he continued to combine this work with his ordinary shearing. He helped to collect dues, and to go through the almost annual business of negotiating shearing rates by conciliation or arbitration. The passing of the Shearers Accommodation Act 1919 was a further victory for shearers, increasing the control on the standard of shearers' quarters. Inspectors in those years were active in enforcing the regulation, often helped by union reports. In 1920, the N.Z.W.U. (which in 1910 had taken over from the A.P.U.) met with a rival in the form of the Mataura Maori Shearers' Association which was, according to Mr Tutaki's story, sponsored by the sheepowners, and attempted to split the Maori shearers of Hawkes Bay from the general union. This Association employed four organisers who toured the district in cars and promised free doctors and medicine to their adherents. ‘In the second year’, says Bob Tutaki, ‘I pushed them off the road. I followed them around wherever they went and talked to the workers in the sheds. I reminded the workers of the bad old days and the achievements of the unions.’ Evidently something went wrong with the organisation of the medical benefits and some doctors and chemists did not honour the Association's membership cards. Anyhow, it seems to have gone out of existence after 1921. To Mr Tutaki this meant a vital change in his career. To cope with the Association, he had been appointed full-time union organiser, and after 1921

BAY OF ISLANDS ELECTRIC POWER BOARD There is a vacancy for an Assistant to the Accountant in the Board's Office at Kaikohe. Preference will be given to a Maori young man over the age of 20 with at least some subjects of the Accountants' Professional Examination and with a genuine desire to complete the examination. There are excellent prospects in the Power Industry for future promotion to Executive positions. For further details, apply to:— Wallace S. Thorpe, Secretary, P.O. Box 243, Kaikohe, NORTHLAND.

he was kept on in that capacity. Much thought went into the long negotiations, with the shearers talking about the cost of living and the farmers showing how little money they were making.

Sharing the Profit In 1928, during the prosperous period after the first World War, with shearing prices at 30/- per 100, the whole subject of shearers' wages was discussed at the N.Z.W.U. conference. When the usual conciliation talks developed that year, a new idea was born. Sheepowners and shearers got together and asked themselves: why should we come to Arbitration year after year and argue against each other? Is there not some objective way of determining the fair price for shering making all the tedious argument unnecessary? According to Mr Tutaki's story, the shearers originally suggested and Federated Farmers accepted the type of arrangement now in force This means that the pay for shearers and shedhands is adjusted in accordance with the movement of wool prices as determined by the Government Statistician's index number for the export price of wool, taking as today's base a price index number of 1000 to equal a wool price of 9.41d per Ib to equal 29/- per hundred sheep. For every 50 point rise in the index number, the shearing rate rises by 6d. In 1956, with wool at 46d, the index number was 4900 and the price £3/8/- per hundred. Introduced in 1928, the system survived the depression with minor changes. In the years 1931 and 1932 it temporarily broke down, to be reintroduced in 1933, with the award at the record low of 18/- per hundred sheep. In 1936, it was laid down that the index number should be determined each year by a committee consisting of the Government Statistician and one representative each of the employers' and the shearers' unions. After this, procedure never changed. These awards have pioneered an idea which in most industries is still in its infancy. In most industries the only link between wages and profits is through the payment of bonuses when a firm has done particularly well. Lately, more industries have started regular schemes to make the workers share in their profits, so they get a greater stake in the success of the enterprise. For instance, workers are given some shares and each year they get the dididend on those shares. The better the year the greater is the dividend. The shearing industry has gone even further than that. It has made earnings entirely dependent on the annual wool cheque, so that shearers have the same stake in the sale prices as have the growers. No arrangement could make for happier working conditions. The workers are protected by a minimum wage, which in 1936 was £1 per 100 sheep, and at present is still at 22/-, while the actual rate is over