FARM LABOUR

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 22, 27 February 1942, Page 5

FARM LABOUR

UNION'S OFFICIAL POLICY AN "ALL-IN" PROGRAMME In a discussion which took place ut last Executive meeting of the Auckland Farmers' Union members expressed the view that farmers were "pulling their weight" to the utmost in the national struggle imposed by the war. "However," said one speaker, "we are poor advertisers and none but ourselves and our neighbours know what wc are doing." Under the circumstances the Executive decided to authorise an official statement as follows-: — Remarks reported to have been made by the chairman of the No. 1 Appeal Board, Mr Orr Walker, on February 13 during the hearing of the case of a farmer reservist in the Franklin district who had been called up for service in the winter months, and others like him, have given a wrong impression of the work' that is being done by the Farmers' Union in assisting in the maintenance of farms whose owners have been called up, states the Executive of the Farmers' Union. When war broke out the farm fabour position was already acute, and farmers, and in many cases their families as well, were working long hours under considerable difficulty. Despite this, the Auckland executive of the Farmers' Union then verged upon its branches throughout the province the setting up of local committees to undertake the supervision of soldiers' farms. To-day, representative men in the Farmers' Union all over the province are carrying on this work within the- limits imposed upon them by the increasingly acute labour difficulty. Not only are hundreds of such men doing extra work in this way, but the majority of them are taking a prominent part in homedefence measures. It is pointed out. however, that ivhilc supervision is willingly being done, and Avill continue to be found, a distinction must be made between this type of work, which covers Jhe management of a farm, and the actual operative work of running it. This latter can be done only by full-time trained labour on a seven-day week, Avhich in so- many cases is not available. "It is a pity if the remarks of Mr Orr Walker have created the impression that the farming community is not pulling its weight," the executive stated. "A verj r great deal is being done, under extremely difficult conditions, to fill the gaps created by wartime exigencies, but most of it. in the nature of things, escapes public attention. It is not the less creditable on that account."