FLAXMILL EMPLOYEES ACCOMMODATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1023, 14 November 1912, Page 3

FLAXMILL EMPLOYEES ACCOMMODATION.

The Feilding Star commenting on the report recently presented to Parliament in reference to the accommodation provided at flaxmills says: —'“A great deal ot outcry has been made against employers in the flax trade because of the poor accommodation they provide for their workers, and there is no doubt that years ago there was a considerable amount of truth in the statements made. The result of the agitation is that it has been ascertained that there is very little to complain about at the present time, the bulk of the employers having done their best to meet the demands upon them- Recently a political agitation was set afoot against the employers, with the result that a special investigation was made by Government officials into the complaints made, with the unexpected result that the blame for a great deal of the discomfort that exists has been placed upon the shoulders of many of the men —they are too lazy or too filthy in their habits to take ordinary precautions for their own comfort and safety when every facility has been given them to do so. The report states that the general impression conveyed was that the owners were in practically all instances prepared to do anything within reason that was considered necessary for the provision of proper accommodation and sanitation at the mills, and it seems only necessary that some uniform standard should be adopted tor them to follow.”