Flaxmill Accommodation.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 15, 16 June 1911, Page 4

Flaxmill Accommodation.

By R

A big, barren barn of a whare, wooden walls, unlined; iron roof, unceiled. A floor of wood, laid down green, which has shrunk until it bears

a stronger resemblanaco to a grating than to a floor. Two tiers of bunks, in which draughts and fleas compete for numerical supreni-acy. In summer the roof draws the heat; in winter it drenches the unfortunate occupants of the top bunks with the sweat from the iron.

To eat in, a replica of the above, With tables and wooden benches instead of bunks, and (sometimes) with an alleged fireplace leaning wearily against one end of the shed. Plenty of water —yet no washing accommodation. Jfienty of steam to heat the wacer—yet no bath. You may wash in river or drain like a dog; you may remain unwaened, like a pig; and if neither of these alluring alternatives attract, you may "get to the devil out of it."

Ine foregoing is a truthful portraiture of tne average flaxmill hand's quarters, as seen Dy unomcial eyes and without Oiucial trimmings. Yet Inspector Uonald in his report to tne "powers that be" on the matter embodied in his screed the amazing assertion that "with the exception of one or two minor points, tne accommodation at the mills lett nothing to bo desired."

borne time ago, in a slack season, when Bill ± J ryor had ceased (temporarily) from troubling and the Union was (relatively) at rest, it was borne in upon us tliat' there was an enactment which this beneficent Government of ours made, presumably to secure ordinary decency in quarters for shearers and agricultural laborers. We were somewnat- surprised on turning up the Act to discover that all tnat these classes of workers seemect to need was 240 feet of space to sleep in and a fireplace "or otlier sumcient means of warming" in the eating-room. liut we took comfort from the fact that the Governor-m-Oouncil could order us sheets if he was recommended to do so, and dropped a civil enough note to tho Minister for Labor calling his- attention to tne state of things existing m tlie mills. We got the usual olncial acknowledgement, followed by a surprisingly—aimost suspicio.usly— prompt intimation that an inspector would go round and report. The local inspector was ill at the time, and the Department sent Inspector Donald to go round. We asked' this gentleman to pay a visit to one mill in special— A. iieifert and Co.'s at ±*aiaka—where the accommodation is fairly good, so that he might use this as a standard ©1 comparison. He never went near this particular mill. How many others in tlie district he neglected to inspect we cannot say, but shortly after his return we received a letter from the Minister to the" elrect that the accommodation was in accordance with the Act, and that nothing could be done in the matter.

In reply to this, we wrote as follows Aug. Ist, 1910.

The Hon. J. A. Millar,

Minister for Labor, Wellington

Deaf Sir, —I have to thank you for yours No. 3480-10 of 25th July regarding the accommodation of some of tno Manawatu fiaxmills.

We noie with grave apprehension that the report of Special Inspector Donald advises you that, with the ex-

he. r>,

Piggeries Sanctioned by Department of Labour.

PJfIRCY T. ROBINSON, Secretary

To this we received no answer

ception o£ a few minor details, the accommodation is "fairly satisfactory." We cdaini that this description ot things is absolutely and entirely incorrect ; that no alterations AT ALiL have been made in accommodation existing at the timo our first award was granted when Mr. Justice Sim, in his memo, attached thereto, said that "the sleeping and other accommodation at some of the Manawatu flaxmills is very defective-" ; therefore, the report of Inspector l>onald is both biased and misleading. With one or two exceptions the men are herded together in large whares, where there is less privacy and vastly less comfort than in the forecastle of the average deep-water-man. The conditions around most of the cook-houses are also grossly insanitary. We do not contend tiiat they do not comply with the provisions of the Act— theife are only two—relating to air space in sleeping whares and a fire place **. the living room, altnougn very tew indeed fill even this meagre bill as regards the latter. What we ask is tlia. further regulations should be gazetted for: (1) bleeping room of not more than two buniss each; (2) a general sitting room with a fireplace tnerein ; (cij a Dathroom with hot and cold water laid on. The conversion of an ordinary whare into a two-man room one woula cost very little, wiailst hot water for baths could easily be obtained from the engine.

As a matter of fact, such a system i; being used (.with the exception of the bathroom) at Paiaha (Messrs. A. Seifert and Co.'s mill), and has been productive of excellent results in the way of keeping the crowd together. We do not think that you can describe these desires to obtain privacy, cleanliness and a slight modicum of comfort as exacting, and we trust therefore that, despite inspector Donald's rose-colour-ed report, you may see your way to get our requirements gazetted.—l am, dear sir, yours faithfully,

How long aro tlie workers going to stand tins treatment at the hands c this shandy-gaff Government, whereir. the honest aie of Democracy is drown ed by the washy lemonade of alleges JLiberalism ?

Flaxraill hands should boar in mind next November that a Ministry which practically refuses decent living conditions can bo dealt with effectively at the polling-booth. "Better a devil you know than a devil you don't know." Better straight-out Toryism than a Liberalism wJiich eventually turns out to be a mere mush of useless enactments such as the Shearers and Agricultural Laborers' Accommodation Act.

Perhaps when the ballot has been taken by the Flaxmill "Workers' Union with respect to joining the Federation, we may be ablo to take steps to right this particular wrong. In the meantime we would ask the flaxmill hands to remember when they vote at, the coming election that the piggeries in which they live are the direct result of the policy of the 'Ward Government.

And, previous to the election, bear in mind that according as you vote for or against our Union joining the Federation, of Labor so you vote for or against a continuance of the beastly living conditions which are forced upon you by the avarice of the employers and the apathy of the Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Labor.