THE FLAXMILLS TROUBLE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3191, 15 September 1917, Page 8

THE FLAXMILLS TROUBLE

Sir,—Since the trouble in the Messrs, Seii'ert's flainiills tlirealens to ?et beyond local interest, and since you imvo quoted a letter, which, lo be understood by the [)iiblic, should have been simplified, I trust you will deem this of sufficient moment to warrant insertion. Although the present situation may ficom to havo been brought about by a trivial wage dispute, tliero, aro several yoints that can bo emphasised, ami there is a call to tho Government, ..s can bo discovered by the perusal of this letter.

Mr. Seifert's objections to Iho proposed maximum increase, which was iml is open to modification and compromise, in t'ho wages of tho mill hands wero these, placed, hi the order of their- importance (in his estimate): (1) Other industries must catch i:p to the llax industry rate, before an advnncu can bo granted. (:>) Pnrmors aud diiirytncn in tho district would bo penalised by (1) inability to obtain help; (2) being forewl to n>k more for their products or cease operations.

(U) The Government would eoizn 'his industry, as the Efficiency Board had already threatened him in that dircctiou. (1) That there was nothing niurtictilnrly arduous or skilful in tho work.

(5) That the industry (from Iho employers' viewpoint) could not stand Uio increase, owing to tho riso in cost of coal, timber, machinery, etc., Mr. Editor, I hero is no denying thai these reasons especially the first two aro very cogent, and if I can make out a good case and show that Ihc increase was refused on two others grounds which [ will call (6) reluctance to part with any. war profit, am] (7) knowledge thai maiiy of Jits employees are tied to his mills, I am entitled to do so.

1 will not debate the points terialiui, but perhaps the second :pqinl. should receive most attention, and it will then bo perceived that tho others become involved in it. lam not called upon lo show that this point can be contradicted; only that it does not influence the Messrs.. Soifert. Twico within a year our employers, without solicitation on our part, deliberately granted .in increase. Note, tho times—November, 1916, March, 1917. In tho hour of tho farmers' greatest need, when by reason of the opening of the shearing and slaughtering seasons, our local producers were bereft, even if only temporarily, of their labourers, or were l'orcod to pay more to keep them, Messrs. Seifjrt deliver them a last stunning blow by voluntarily raisins tho pay of their employees. I will not labour the point, except to say that this alone shows tho ■hollownesß of Messrs. Seifert's pathuliu interest in the'farmers and (birymen! riasmillinj; has been classed as a partially essential industry, and if it can be proved that the agricultural and pastoral industries aro seriously ir.-can-. venienced by it, surely the remedy (not necessarily closing down, but, rather talcing over root and branch) lays in tho Government hands. Althoiigh 'his is purely a wages dispute'! beliovo there is a, strong undercurrent of feeling that the flai industry has done nothing in itself to deserve such unexampled prosperity. Consider a moment. Tho grain farmer goes through numberless operations before ho can sow his wheal, etc., tho sheep-farmer has his anxiolies, tho dairy-farmer, etc., has his—the fiaxmiller buys or leases a part of tho publio domain, drains- it when necessary, erects machinery .to treat and dross It, and then sits back whilst others work, and counts the profits (in war iime). The winds of Heaven carry tho seed and how it, the flooded rivers pass ever tho swamps without harm to tho flax;; when the miller wishes to closo down, ho calmly lays his mon off. In short, it is always harvest with him, and. if a fire or two did not occur in these swamps nothing would disturb his comjilacncy. I have gone to greater length than I intended or you will permit. Two fads and I close. ■ At the Palmerstou sittings of l:e Medical Board it is notorious thut fiax--1 "worker after flax-worker has been : turned down for such ailments as strained heart, rheumatism, asthma, etc.. ailments directly attributable to their employment. This partly answers No. •(. Some of Uie millers are already (either openly or by way of secret bonus to their caterers) at least paying Us. to tiscir hands; Messrs. Seifert themselves do so whenever it suits them (as witness night shifts for lonpr periods), Nns. 5 nnd 6. The difference between, roughly, £10 m<l .£6O a ton, the riso caused by '-he war alone. The final remartf is this: Tf the Government wish to make a start, here is their chance. Take, the millers' unearned profits, and if they (the Govern, ment) can bring the purchasing power of the sovereign to anything like what it was in pre-war times, it will not be tho workers that will object to having their wages fixed on that basis. —I am, etc., P. KING, Hon. Sec, Local Committee, Mirauui, Shanuou. September W.