THRESHING MILL HANDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9711, 5 February 1910, Page 5

THRESHING MILL HANDS.

DISSATISFIED WITH 1 HEIRPAY. By Ite-lefcjrapb—Pr j s3 Association. ASHBURTON, February 4. The "Guardian" states that for some time past the general hands employed on threshing mills throughout the Ashburton County have been dissatisfied with their pay, which computed on makes things very unsatisfactory from their point of view. This year, owing to the lightness of> grain and the quantity of straw in the chaff,, the worK of aggregating'the bushels is a task nearly double that of a year st'ch as last. The- men h©Jd that this should be recognised,, and that they should be paid at so much per hour rather than at so much per bushel as at present.. The broken weather experienced during the past few weeks brought the matter to a head, and as the specific result of a speci ally unremunerative day's work yesterday, the hands on the mill working in the Wakanui district this morning made representations to the owners.. The latter immediately saw the farmer whose grain was being dealt with, and asked if he would be agreeable to being charged ' on time instead; of on a quantity basis. On the farmer declining to take a step which would have such an important bearing on the interests both of the County and the Dominion, the grain (growers, the men at once stopped work,, and the mill was left idle.. It is understood that the mill hands throughout the i County are fairly united in regard to the broad pnncinle of the question at issue, and that they consider they should be paid Is 3d per hour, and find themselves. Developments are anticipated.