Dairy Ward Conference

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 43, 4 May 1948, Page 5

Dairy Ward Conference

“Inadequate Allowance For Week-End Work” A recommendation that the Government take action to see that food ships for Britain are turned around quicker at New Zealand ports was passed by the Bay of Plenty Ward conference of dairy company directors at Whakatane last week. The meeting pledged utmost efforts to increase the supply of food to Great Britain.

The conference also passed a resolution strongly protesting against the “inadequate allowance to farmers and farm workers for week-end and holiday work” as compared with other sections of the community. Mr D. Radcliffe produced a statement making comparisons between the allowance to farmers, and the overtime allowances for drivers and wharf labourers. According to the way he worked it out, the drivers and the watersiders looked to be at considerable advantage,. but he asked that his figures be withheld from the press. At the suggestion of Mr A. J. ‘Murdoch, M.P., Northern .Ward member of the N.Z. Dairy Board and chairman of the conference, the meeting agreed that no monthly figures concerning monthly production nor payout should be made available for publication. Mr Murdoch said the Board’s suggestion was that the companies should refrain from publishing figures other than annual figures because it was felt that payouts, without statements of costs, created a wrong impression as to farmers’ incomes.

The conference was attended by delegates of all the dairy companies in the Bay of Plenty area, Mr Murdoch, Mr W. E. Hale, chairman of the N.Z. Dairy Board, Mr C. H. Courtney, Board secretary, and Mr A. H. Ward, Director of Herd Improvement. 7 Messrs H. S. Holmes, A. C. Spence and R. F. Wardlaw were elected delegates to the Dominion conference.