FLAXWORKERS' DISPUTE.

Shannon News, 26 September 1924, Page 3

FLAXWORKERS' DISPUTE.

MELILERS appeal against INSPECTOR'S RATE. CASE BEFORE ARBITRATION COURT. The relative cost of milling flax under the. old method of hook cutting and the new system of side-leaf cutting was the crucial question involved in a dispute whoch was heard in the Arbitration Court before Mr Justice Frazer, at Palmerston N. on Tuesday,, when the flax millers appealed against the recent adjudication of the inspector of factories at Palmerston North (Mr J. Lowde'n), who hai fixed the rate of wages for the men employed at side leaf cutting at 16/7 i per ton. With His Honour on the bench were Messrs Hiram Hunter (representing the workers) and W. Scott (representing the employers). Mr B. L. Hammond conducted Uu: case for the millers, while the interests of the empfoyees were watched by "Mr A. L. Monteith, M.P. Advsnt of the Side Leaf. Mr Hammond explained that thflparties were governed by an award which came into force in 1915, and under which the rate of wages was fixed from time to time. It was provided that if any new machinery was introduced, or any new method 3 adopted, the rate of pay for the work should be reached by mutual agreement, and failing this the inspector of factories should be called upon to adjudicate." A demand had beei made by the men for £1 per ton for flax cut under the side-leaf method, the parties Tiad failed to agree.and the .matter had accordingly been referre.-J to the inspector of factories, who had made the rate 16/71 per ton, and it was this rate against which the appeal had been lodged. Mr Hammond proceeded to compare the old method with the side-leaf process of cutting, and said that und<?r, the old way the flax could be cut only once in four years. The rate fixed for this cutting had.been 5/ per ton, and was raised during the war to 7/ per ton, this figure remaining at the present time. About two years ago the industry suffered severely from a general depression in the market, as well as the ravages of the yellow-leat disease, as a result of which many millers were forced to cease operations for some time. This led to serious consideration of proposals for improving the industry generally by the application of more scientific methods of cultivation and cutting. The adoption of the side-leaf cutting was the outcome.

It was submitted, Mr Hammond, continued, the rate waa-quite too high and it was the hope of the appellants that the Court would take a more logical view of the whole question, and revise the figure fixed by the inspector of factories.

Increased Cost of Side-Leaf.

Evidence on behalf of the millers was given by Alfred Seifert, managing director of A. and L. Seifert, Ltd., who detailed at length the effect on the industry of the introduction of the side-leaf method of cutting flax. This system, he said, had been tried about 60 years ago, but had not bee"a pursued on account of the extra cost involved. Witness personally , had conducted experiments with it on a small area about 22 years ago, and although he recognised that more satisfactory results could be 'obtained, the cost of the method induced him to aba'ndon it. About five years ago, he had a similar experience, though he again recognised the benefit of the innovation.

Witness proceeded to explain that u'nder the old method of cutting, the flax plant was taken off close to the bulb, and this damaged it severely, . as well as rendering it useless comfor a period of four years. In the side-leaf system, however, only . part of the plant was removed, and witness proceeded to' compare the costs of the two methods, giving instances of increased costs under the side-leaf process by the quotation of figures taken from the operations of his company's mill. He traced the period of adversity through which the industry had passed, and said it was only recently that the old method of cutting had been abandoned for the gide-leaf system. Prom tests he had carried out over a"a area of 100 acres of ground, witness gave extensive details of the yield and the profit derived., Under the old method the computation had been based on 5/ per ton, and this revealed a profit of £607, while under the side-leaf process, assuming that the rate of 16/7 i was to be paid, the profit was reduced to £473. Exactly similar conditions had prevailed in each instance, and the same kind «of ground had been used in , the production. v Markets Govern Wages. Witness, in response to Mr Hammond, traced his own efforts in the improvement of th e industry by experimenting with the iside-leaf cutting, and said that the prices he "paid were governed by the fluctuation of the market prices. For 'nine years the company had endeavoured to give the employees the benefit of any appreciable increase in the pric* of the product, and taking it all-in-all, it had been quite satisfied with the labour. He was quite aware that other millers were standing aside a"nd . awaiting the results of his experiments before taking up the system themselves. However, he added, in response to another question, he sometimes became somewhat pessimistic. "I have found so much opposition," . he said, "that I get very pessimistic about the whole thing." It was quite possible, he added, that things on the market would become so bad that he would have to close altogether. He concluded with the frank admission that if he received' no alteration in the rate from the Court, the question which he had, to consider was whether

he could carry on. Unless the rate remained in the vicinity of 16/ at the highest, there would be very little flax cut by side-leaf. In reply to Mr Monteith, witness de-

| nied that he had reduced his wages to 15/ in order to strengthen his case i'a thexCourt, but merely because it was a fair proposition. It was a fact that he was now employing more strippers than usual at the mill. In some cases the flax had been cut by sideleaf at intervals of seven mo'nths and nine months, but this did not establish as a fact the assumption that this could bfe done successfully year after year.

New Method Easier, but Costly. Herbert Albert Seifert, son of the previous witness, in charge of the operations of the mills at Miranui, gave evidence of the experience of men in certain gangs on cutting work. Many,, he said, were so prejudiced at the introduction of the side-leaf process that rather than adapt themselves to it, they left the job altogether. Some of the men who remained were now making much more than they had "been making under old conditions. When witness himself had commenced to cut he had turned out 17 cwt of - leaf per day after five and a-half days' actual experience on the job. The price paid for cutting had ranged from 15/ to 19/ per ton, and the men five tons per week. The new method was easier on the men, and any man should have 'no difficulty in securing the average output. In some cases young boys were securing wages almost as high as some of the men. As for the extra work involved in the side-leaf cutting, witness was of opinion that if developed properly, the flax employees in the Manawatu would be increased from 400 to 1400. After an adjournment, the Court indicated that it would nairpw the .issue to fixing the rate fcr cutting first-class flax by men of average competency, and this was agreed to by the representatives of both pai'ties. Roy William Priest, accountant for A. and L. Seifert, Ltd., gave comparative figures of the cost of producing by hook and knife cutting, and said that : .under the latter .system the price had risen by-100 per cent. .Question ;of Equitable Basis. Alexander Ross, *flaxmiller, of Foxton, produced records of the operations of a gang of cutteTS on both hook and side-leaf methods, and said he was forced to revert to the hook method as he found that the side-Teaf was not a payable proposition. It was shown, however, that the weekly wages of the men had risen considerably when the.y - were placed on the knife, for which they were paid 17/ per ton; while on the old method 7/ per ton was given. Witness found that the rate which could-be paid for knife cutting in order to keep the weekly earnings of the men on the same level as'under the old system was 15/ per ton. Reginald Theodore Bell, fl'axmiller, of Palmerston North, related his experience in the side-leaf experiments, and said that when he gave his men the option of cutting with the hook a* 7/6 per ton, or on side-leaf at 17/, twelve out of fifteen men adopted the latter course. , ; Millers' Action Criticised. i

This having concluded th e case for the appellant millers, Mr Monteith addressed the Court, stressing the fact that both parties had agreed upon certain figures relative*to the produc* tion, cutting and milling of flax, which were submitted to the inspector, upon which to base his computations when assessing the wages. In the face of these facts, however, it had been stated by a witness that the figures were not an accurate method of basing the rate. Mr, Monteith also stressed the point that Mr Seifert had, after the fixation of the rate at 16/7 i, deliberately reduced the rate of his men to 15/-, which, the speaker contended, showed a lack of consideration for the Inspector in whose hands the matter had been placed. He submitted on the other hand that the millers should have given the Inspector's rate a fair trial befor e any action in the way of a reduction should have been taken. He expressed that on account of the flax being cut once a year by side-leaf as against once every 4 years under the hook, the yield was 100 per cent greater. Whereas, with the hook, they received 27 ,tons of green, leaf in every 4-yearly cut, with the knife . they could get 13 tons of leaf every year, or 52 tons every four years. Then, allowing for the increased cost of production, he submitted that while the yield was 100 per cent greater, the profit would be at least 16 5 per cent greater than under the old method of hook cutting over a period of four years. The employees, he assured the Court, were asking only for a rate which would be the equivalent of what had been received when they worked with the hook, but from whatever angle he viewed the position, he saw the employers deriving a huge benefit, for it appeared obvious to him that even if the Court was generous to the men, the side-leaf cutting was still going to be a veritable "goldmine" to the millers. Whereas the employers hod called evidence to show- the increased average weekly earnings of the men working th e sideleaf, the Union proposd to show that the opposite was very frequently the case on certain property. Evidence was given by Peter Jensen, a flaxworker at the Miranui mill, who testified to the accuracy of tallies taken of leaf cut covering a certain period when tests were being taken by both th e employers and the men in August, 1923. Discrepancy in Figures. Percy Tucker Robinson, secretary to the Flaxmill Workers' Union, testified to lengthy lists of figures, which he said had not been objected to by the employers when they had been presented to them at a previous conference, and later when handed to the Inspector. The high wages received by one particular man who had been quoted, was explained by his working exceptionally long hours. Witness personally had seen him go-

ing to work at 6 a.m. and he had not | returned at 6.30 in the evening. Complaints had been made by th e v men that this particular man had been working all hours. This explained his increase in weekly earnings. Witness quoted figures to show that the earnings of certain men over a given period, working in the same swamp and under the respective methods of cutting, were, with but two' exceptions more under the hook method than under the knife, or side-leaf cutting. "A Hopeless Tangle." This concluded 'th e case for the men and Mr Hammond submitted that as the figures and tallies given by both parties comprised such a hopeless tangle, the matter should b e held dn abeyance for some time till proper and accurate tallies over a given period could be presented. His Honour agreed that both sides should commence taking tallies at the same time, and should agree upon the method to be adopted. Mr Monteith did not agree to an adjournment and Mr Hammond proceeded to address the Court. Decision Heserred. The Court reserved its decision, His Honour remarking that a difficult task lay ahead. "I am glad," h e remarked, humorously, "that both Mr Hammond and Mr Monteith sympathise with each other and I hope they both sympathise with the Court." It was unfortunate, His Honour added, that tallies had not been taken by both parties under the same conditions, and he commended the aption of the inspector for having th e courage to adjudicate in the matter.