SHEARERS' WAGES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 184, 21 August 1937, Page 3

SHEARERS' WAGES

-Presa Aesociation.)

Sheepowners at Feilding Concerned "NORTH ISLAND PENALISED"

(By Teleeraph-

PALMERSTON N., This Day. Peoling that the new skearers awar-i was penalising North Island sheepowners whose wool generally was of a lower grade than that of South Island growers, the Feilding exccutive of the Farmers' Union forwarded a protest to the New Zealand Sheepowners Federation following discussion on the situation, at the last meeting. In i'a'ct, members ielt so strongly on the mattcr that it was also decided to eommuuicati.' with Dominion hcadquarters of the Farmers ; Union suggesting a separato award for the North Island. The Federation executive has replied that the basis on whieh the scale was arranged was fully set out in the claus;es of the award while the operation of dhe side providing for a rise or fall in shearing rates, in accordanco with the rise or fall in Dominion average priees of wool, was clearly shown 011 a' chart which was forwarded with tho lettcr. The principlc was that shearers and shed hands participato in any increase in priees received in the ratio agreed on and also in any lowered priccs realised below the base lixcd for last season. The letter added that the Feilding comrnittee was evidently unaware of the idifheult position which had to be faced !by the employers assessors at tho coniciliation sitting last year owing to slegislation passed by the Government rboth in tlie Finance Act and Arbitra|tion Amendment Act which made it compulsory to revert to the 1931 award •'rates of pay and also impcsed a limitaition of 40 shillings a week with a proIviso that the worker's wages wero noi ■xeduced by ihe reduced hours. The jworkers oould have obtained o4s Gd pe? 1100 for last season with wool at 9d average. The sheepowners assessors, tho jinajority of whom were North Island 'sheepowners, decided that it would be iproferablo to malce a compromise with the workers, the result^being that although the pitch and base line of the scale were each higher than in previous vears, the Federation was able to fix last year's rates at 27s for machines with wool at 9d which was 24 per lb higher than that realised for the previous year's clip. Had wool receded in price, the rntes would have come down in proportion from 27s but fortunately growers had received an additional 6 3-4d per lb average for last season '3 clip. The extra rate paid to shearera represented 7-Sd per sheep. and for shed hands 5-Sd, a total of 14d per shcep whereas the increashd price received meant at GJd per lb, and taking an average of 8 lbs per sheep, the increased return to the grower equaled 4s 6d per sheen.

The Federation executive felt suro the Feilding committce would agreo that it was sntisfactory that the substantial use oii wool liad made it possible to give an added inducemeftt to competent shearers and shed workers, to carry on for tho coming see- 7. Lt was also pointed out that the relative rise in values was much higher with respeet to crossbred wools generally than for Merino and half-brcd wools. The letter - also containe.d surpriso that the Feilding committee suggested action with the view of obtaining a separate award for the North J.slnnd. The existing award was a Dominion one and could not be varied unless by order of the Arbitration Court. Mr. H. D. Acland, president of the federation, aud possibly somc members of the executive, intended visiting Feilding next month at the request of several sheepowners, as a result of which it was hoped that arrangements might be made for owners in the district" who were employers of labour, to obtain. xepresentation on the federation council and the opportunity of expressing their views on industrial "and other matters affeeting the industry. As iegards the ration allowance, it had been held by the Labour Department on several occasions, that shearers who found their own rations were entitled to 4s per day allowance for the whole of the period from the commenctment of tho shed to the cut-out, it being held that they Were required to hold themselves at the disposal of tho cm"ployer for the whole of the period. —