SHEARERS' LABOUR CONDITIONS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 September 1910, Page 2

SHEARERS' LABOUR CONDITIONS.

To tlio Editor.

Sir —I have been glancing ti rough the proposed conditions kjl La bom demanded by the New Zealand Shearers' I'liion, and they are n ally interesting. Take Clause ; "Hours of work." X<it more than H hours shall be worked in any one week." Mr Shearer might be idle fur two days at the begi ming o' the week through rain, and ho is not prepared to make up for lost lime at the end of it. but he dr.os'nt care. Clause S) is espooi; 11 y ingenuous. It reads: "In the event of any stoppage of madhineiy at any shed through breakage, or in case the shearer is rendered idle, either owing to the employer or liis agent failing to start shearing or date of advice, the employer o. his agent shall pay the shearer a I the rate of Is 3d per hour for a:i time lest." Lovely! is'nt it? No matter how careful a man may be all machinery is liable to break down, yet the shearers dei; and payment for the time they sd around smoking. A bad tempered shearer has oulv got to seriously damage the machinery, and h" and his mate can plav curds all ti.iv and live on tlie fat of the land, puis Is 3d per hour. Grand! isn't it Clause L") is rather interesting as an example of the one-sidedness of the award asked for. It says: "In t!r event, of any dispute as'to wet sheep, the mcn'« representative shall take a vote of the shearers, fh • decision of the majority to be lira] " but this is negatived with •'Any individual shearer shall be open to refuse to shear any dicep which he has reasonable cause to beiiuvc- to be wet." In other words the majority role is to be li'ial at one moment, and the individual shearer can upset it the next) Shades of Tom Mann! Clause 2(> is absurd surely! Tt piovides that the employer shall lini one grindstone (if suitable quality lor every six or part of six s! oarers, each grindstone to be i* d less than 18in in dia icter. Consequently if the fanner nas thee grindstones each of only Kiin ii diameter, he must order' three more and as these by next year W'i' be worn down to less than he will probably have to orthree more, and so on ad m(ii itum One would almost think the shearers had shares in some grindstone trust. But look, clause 29 is the pick of the bunch. It requires the employer to provide well cooked and wholesome, fowl in sufficient quantity, including not less than 1 Jibs of butter and 1 ilbs of jam per man per week. How many shearers have 111hs of butter per week at home? If they do. they live better than hundreds of others who are in constant work all the yeai round. But this clause continues: "lie shall supply the cook with Iho following rations; oatmeal, tea, coffee, sugar, flour., sago, rice currants, raisins, fine salt, popper, muslnrd. vinegar, milk, vegetables (lo include cabbage, potatoes, and onions), mutton, beef, baking powder. cream of tartar, carbonate of sod;?. Imps, dried apples, and curry powder." Doesn't it make yom mouth water? Wy not include iigs, dates, and prunes with the currants and raisins? 'lo say notlding of tinned pineapple, peaches, or pears, ami why omit the cream? The shearer might just as well have them. This clause then winds up: "Xo Asiatics to he employed as c;ok or to supply vegetables." In many districts the Chinaman is the only gnower of vegetables, and is the farmer to •send •">() miles to get a sack of vegetables from a European? Who pays the freight? Not the shearer. 1 guess. Clause 39 provides that representatives of their Association shall be allowed to visit shearers for tiie purpose of eiridling members, so j presume those men can go to the shed and interfere with the work, because, of course, the shearers won't mind, as they are to bo paid Is 3d an hour for "alltime lost."

(lauso_ ID: If Mip shea vor loaves 0 r is <lisonr<ro:l before to com picturn of iho slif.vi inu". < 1 ic> employe.) shall have the shearer's ,horse bi'nmrht In iho door of the shod, o. "shall_ provide liiin with a horse to net his own in." How doos I.!io. shoiiror manage abuit jroLtinu; hiw liorso when ho is ai homo, or working at. anything else? Hoiaiiso ho is s!kmtiiiu,' wii.ii a man for a few !.'iys he is to he (i•ontod like an hmio'iivod fi.iost, when probably even the fanner's own young friends would have io oliaso out and on toll t loir (m n horses. Why not make Ji'i'iuor bring him a muof svaviiig water in t.lio morning? 1 oor helpless fellow! Clause -l.i: "I'aros shall ho paid l«!f Mil sheaiors from office of on'V' —.o ineil l io station, men finding their own moans ol locomotion to r..oiv pnymoiit Of (l ,al to the fare." .West ,:l ms arc only (•::<, to nay (lU ' n (.:> 11 hillet whore w'o '•an cam a u ust, not so> shearers. licjilly sir. ii such clauses as this w there will he a grand 1 ' 1 " 1 of H,p >s ],ea,1 '"I you wonder that we ordinary mortals who have ml to wait "! 'n ourselves and find out own . '"••"motion to work, eomwith envying tones and sor'I nv 1,1 'J;"' hojirts: "I M-ish I wore a snearor. --.y.()irr«, etc., I'LODDKK,