THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3680, 20 August 1927, Page 4

THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

DISSATISFACTION WITH .ARBITRATION COURT. FLAX MILLERS ISSUE A STATEMENT. The time has now come, says an official statement issued by the New Zealand Flaxmillers’ Assoeiation, when a very material revision of our whole Arbitration Court system is not only desirable but ur--1 gently necessary to enable this country to return to its Conner prosperous, condition. On the one hand we have relief schemes, paid for out of loan money, thereby increasing the National debt, to overcome the unemployment difficulties, and on the other hand we have what has been aptly described as a machine for creating unemployment, viz. an Arbitration Court that bases its findings on a. principle which has long ago been recognised as an economic fallacy and illusion.

The Court follows the principle of raising wages in sympathy with the cost of living notwithstanding the fact that it has no control either over the cost of living.or the value of the product, that lias to pay the wages. Needless to say it would be impossible to constitute any tribunal that would he in the position to control these factors as they, are entirely dependent upon world wide conditions. The Court’s professed policy is'to maintain wages on the equivalent of a 1909-13 standard. This period was an extremely prosperous one for our Dominion and since then there has been the greatest War in history uprooting many old and long-established economic conceptions. To-day our country is not in a prosperous state'but owing to the mistaken application of the principle of wage fixation which reduces our arbitration system to the merest class legislation, the wage-population is being sheltered from hearing any share of the burden caused by the War and its consequences thereby adding to the burden of others. The people who are being crushed, by the Court’s actions are those who represent the unsheltered industries of the Dominion and who are not in a position to pass on increased costs of production, viz., the primary producers. New Zealand's whole economic structure depends upon the prosperity of her primary industries and amongst these is our flax industry. We have recently had some experience in connection with the Arbitration Court and surely there is something wrong with .its policy of making its decisions without giving more heed to the welfare of the industry concerned. Notwithstanding the fact that, the value of our product has only risen from 23/10 (Jd a ton during the 1900-15 period to £29/10/0 a ton during 1921-20 period, representing an increase of 20 per cent, the Court has seen lit to make a wage increase of 73 per cent, over the same period. i In addition to a voluntary increase of 05 per cent, that we are paying until recently, the Court saw tit to add another S pci 1 cent. No other proof is necessary to show that the state of the industry received little or ho consideration. Had the increase been given only to the lower paid workers, one might have taken a charitable view of tlie matter, Imt increases were given to men earning big money on piece work adding even 1/- to a man's wages who is earning 28/- per day. The opinion is being freely expressed that to abolish (lie Arbitration Court altogether would probably be in the host interests of the country hut to do so at. a single stroke would involve a change in economic conditions perhaps too dntstic. Its limit abolition should nevertheless be the objective of the gradual evolution of our present system. To commence with, legislation might he sought; to provide that the Arbitration Court should act as follows: — , *

(1) Review all existing awards and give special consideration to the state of every industry affected. (2) Detine only minimum rates and a few vital conditions, hut leave all other, matters to mutual settlement.