"TAKES THE BUN"

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 145, 11 February 1932, Page 5

"TAKES THE BUN"

ARBITRATION ACT VIGOROUS ATTACK BY LARGE i ' DEPUTATION -OF ?• * FARMERS THE "SILLY". IN CONGILIATION i " * *. '* PALMERSTON N., Wednesday. The Arbitration Act came in for a broadside of \criticism at Woodville on: Saturday when farmers. from the Southern 'Hawke's Bay and Bush distriqts, b.omb&rded the Minister of Agriculture-,. (the Hon. «E., A_. Ransom) with . a variety of .grievances. Seyeral. hundred representatives ,of the primary producers' waited on the Minjster, and the. .request was made that .the dairying industry should be exempted from. the provisioiis - of the Act. " ' *;*. * ... ..-1 • 1T think the Arbitration Act just takes the tuni," said Mr. S. Mclntosh, chairman of, the Woodville - Dairy Company, "who was the first speaker to ireffer to the matter. 4It costs the country millions' a year, ' and is bolst.ering up' dne section of-the -community tO the disadvantage/ " of the othets. Business men- are- -loaded up with chafges and pass th4m- ofi >to the dairying industry, which can't pass them -any where-." »• 1 r Arbitration aWards, he proceeded, fixed'the hours of wOrk-and -rates of nay for the -men, employed in dairy factories,? - and affected • cheete quality. • Prior— to -.the Arbitration Act, good cheese was -made-^-490 per cent, fineet— now- there was very little. About 5 - per cent. of the . .industry 's troubleS- in - regard .-to "butfcetf and cheese could be put on -the farmer-; the r«st belonged- elsewher e. - . • 5 "Fight it Tooth and Nail" "We* are'going- to fight' this Arbitration Act -tooth and. nail," he told Mr- Ranspm, . '(and w.e.want you ,to help ua. Th.e Act is.really the cause of! unemployment to-day ; people can't -pay.fchp rates of pay fixed, and haye. to. put their employees off." ■■ * * '«• ' ' It Was forty years

|imce- the - Gonciliation and Arbitration Court Act had been introduced, said -Mr. J. G. Brechin (Pahiatua),, and th.e- only thing now. left to the title. was the "silly" in -conciliation. Now that the Government

; j was reviewing tne Act, farmers submitE. A. Ransom ted.that.no indhstry . which could not pass on its added costs as.a re'sult Of the operations of the. Act should , be 'placed under it. ' Dairy Factories Breaking Law "Under " present "Conditions," Mr. Breehiri -went on, "there- is no dairy factory in New. Zealand ' which is keeping within the four walls of the law. :"-It is quite imp.ossible for > a dairy eompany, . morenespecially r a cheese factory, to keep*»within the operations of the Act-without paying overtime., which they can't do." . ; After auoting figures relative to the- cost of .manuf acturing, transport, and selling; v Mr. Brechin concluded by isaying ±hat:something would have to. be done5 to pull -down -the industry'is costs. * * - Referring to the bobby calf industry, Mr., At. H., Dansen (Dannevirke) said that.-- itr took - 65, .to- 7,0 out . of cyeryi 100 to pay the cost .of killing. In a, great -measure, -that showed the effe'ct: of -the, Arbitration Court Act on the -farming- community. A voice: "The butchers get £28 a week." - . Act to be Reviewed It was propose'd-td reView the working* of • the* Act in the :near. future. said Mr. Ransom, replying. * Undoubtedly -the coUntry wanted a reduction in-" the costs of pro.duction more in line with the prices realised. i A Voice : - "Will. you work- for- the exemption of the dairy industry -from the working of "the* Act?' That- is what the meeting wants." Mr. Ransom;-? "I don't think that is a fair question to put to me as Minister. It is- -quite : -improper for a Minister to make* a Statement on a n'olicy matter before the Government has>- decided its poljcy.. When -I became Minister and was ignorant of what should and What should not he 1 said; I ;spoke toO openly, with the result that when I got back to "Wellington I'was asked if I was prepared to hand in my resignation. That taught me-that I- could not expresS-my-views hefore the Government had made a policy declaration on-any matter.", 5 , I will' say, Mr. Ransom added, that the Government recognises that, as far as the Arbitration Act is concerped, -it must be-amended in the direction of -not hampering • any in.r dustry.