THE SHEEP-FARMERS' LABOR EXCHANGE.

NZ Truth, Issue 140, 22 February 1908, Page 6

THE SHEEP-FARMERS' LABOR EXCHANGE.

A Word of Warning to Workers.

What soirfc of an insect is that won-' derful Sheep-Farmers' Labor Ex 1 change, whose ■ -building .-pierces the atmosphere m Chris tehurch, and which is run undar the supervision of an organisation styling itself the Canterbury Sheep-farmers' 1 industrial Union of Employers. If; is a Dlain. fraud m cases where men nave a lons Way to go 4n quest of emplovinent-r work which they have been engaged to so to by one Lab-att, or his clerk; or whoever it is m the office who. deigns to write down the names of common people and despatch them tp the wool fclngS; or the! animated cockies who never seem, to sleep or air low their slaves to do so. Labatt'-s I name is P. H., and he is secretary, ! arid seems to be on a good wicket. And tire sheep-farmers, or other farmers/ lose --nothing by the scheme employed to secure labor. They make money by it, as the last balancesheet showed-, for the men have not only to pay a procuration fee. but ' have to pay their own fare to wheiv ever they are sent, or most of the way, at all events. And the wage paid to some of the manor hands is simply scandalous. No wonder the Conciliation Board is travelling round the South Island enquiring into things'; and that the toilers are telling; them just what they think about things. But to get back to the precious pastoralists pimp at Christchurch. Nine men were sent to Blenheim, to a chap named Rv J. 80-ddington, of Molesworth. They were wanted for rabbit poisoning and . THEIR 'PAY WAS POUR 808 A DAY. They were required to part a procuration fee iof 4s 6d each — anybody would think it was a procuresses' es-itabl^hjment--and they went to Cul-

verden by traiu. They had to pay that little bill themselves.' "The next step was to Hanmer Plains by coach, which they also parted up for. A wagicon was to meet them there.: but it didn't. It was to convey them a distance of fifty miles to Blenheim. But squatter Boddington actually had the unsurpassed magnificent cheek to only send two pack •horses to. carry the men's swags ; they were to walk the 50 miles. Unparalleled audacity that— and all for four 1 bob a day.; wet days didn't count. And the roads were beautiful, tell your maiden aunt, and the boots of most of the party had^seen better afternoons,: and didn't appear to be capable of Avorking overtime. Yet seven of the nine took the job on, two .otters returning to Christchuri-h sick and disheartened. If a sheep-farmer tells Labatt that he'll have a waggon at a certain "point on a certain day, it should he thece ; m this particular case, Bodding'ton, or Baddingtou, or whatever he figures o.n the census of the Maryborough province, said ; that the wag-gon, or hearse, or whatever climbed over crooked tracks,, was engaß&d iii- taking :•■ wool to the' port, or wherever it is the people bat-he, annually. Now, if laborers of whatever variety knew what' was bef or« them when engaging .at the Sheepfarmers' Labor Exchange, nobody would be -#ot to go anywhere- .One of the men who returned to Christchuroh made some .strong observations about matters, and . asked for a return of his procuration fee. This was. refusetf, so ..he ;ap?>lieav- to •;>• the. Labor Department . avthorifcieß, who made mention of tie y: maitfer to the sheep-farmers' flunkey" and thas eventually brought the : requ%ed,. few bob that was very acceptable to a man who had- been diddled. This man is dead off that so-calkd exchange, -which takes m change your money for nothing - much m par'Wcular . ; There are . . • ■■'..•■, '■. "*:'■'. ' _:K " ' NO BIG BILLETS HANGING TO; IT. „.,: It was only last year that our informant, who used to be on the trams m Auckland, 'but Avho had to resign owing to a throat trouble, was sent by this . awful , agency. ;;io Kaikoura. -. He paid fifteen shillings Steamer fare, and . wlteii the boat landed these was su pp osed to be , a conveyance waiting for him, but there wasn't. He asked- some' of the inhabitants and they merely J augjhed . They said that there never were any conveyances sent from: that station, and they had to walk 30 odd milts.' The victim m the present .case was-n't-taking on any or that jsame, though. He had only eighteen fcence left m his pocket, so he took a slushies billet at a pub. - That is what some of the workers have to. put up with m Maoriland, ami all who want toil are hereby warned to steer clear of the Sheep-farmers' EI-x^ change, Hereford-street, ' C-hrist-chui'oh. v '