MR ROSS ON THE WAGES QUESTION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 450, 11 February 1909, Page 3

MR ROSS ON THE WAGES QUESTION.

[to the editor.]

Sir. —I notice an article in your issue of 9th hist-, from Mr Robinson, secretary of the Flaxmills Employees Union, in which he states that the average wages paid to fiaxmill bands is 5s id per annum. This is a very misleading statement to make. If this statement has been taken from Government returns, it embraces all hands who may have been working for a short period of the year in a flax mill and the greater part of the year either doing nothing or engaged at some other kind of work still going under the name of fiaxmill hands. I, at least, cannot conceive of any other way in which such an average could possibly be struck, for, if the average is only 5s id a year, what can the minimum wage be ? If this statement is correct the sooner the industry ceases to exist the better, for no man can live on that wage mentioned by Mr Robinson. At the close of our last season, I made an analysis of each man’s earnings for the period I was working off the Motoa Estate, and not including my winter run, as I simply desired, for my own information to know what wages were actually earned during the ordinary flaxmill season. I commenced work on the 17th of August and closed on 19th of June. This, in the ordinary case, left two mouths for men to be idle or find some other employment which, of course, is not easy to do during winter months. During the period I mention, the individual wages were as follows :—’Engine driver, £iv/ \ feeder, ,£135; catcher, 8s; 2 shakers, ,£93 12s each; washer, ,£lOl 8s; rousabout, ,£93 12s; beuchloader, ,£lOl 8s; paddockers, £l2O each ; scutchers, ,£129 each ; flax cutters, (1), ,£145 15s; (1), ,£l2l 10s ; (2) £206. The above is a correct statement of my wages book for the period just mentioned. Were I to take into account the winter months worked, each one would have a proportionate amount more to their credit, but that would be unfair, as most mills are closed for these months. Should Mr Robinson not believe my statement, he, or anyone he cares to appoint, can examine my wages book and as each man’s signature is opposite the amount he received, it will be seen there cannot be any mistake. I should think my wages sheet was only in keeping with most of the mills in this district. If Mr Robinson desires to bring forward arguments and uses statements like this it is manifestly unfair to the general body of fiaxmill hands that their earnings should be so belittled, for any man who would be content to follow any calling whatever and only earns an average wage of 24s per week reflects equally on the man as on the business he seems satisfied to follow. For no man worthy of the name would stay at it. At least I don’t want to employ such. Let us keep to what is being done in our own district, and see if the industry can be carried on so that men and masters have a fair return for labour. Exaggerated statements never do any good in the long run. —I am, etc.,

Wm. Ross,