Inspection

Native Labour

What Plantation Managers Have To Put Up With Under Wardist Regime in N. Guinea

From Our Own Correspondent RABAUL, April 14.

THE following is a copy of a letter written recently by the Acting In spector of Native Labour, at Talasea, to the manager of a coconut plantation in New Britain; — Following the recent inspection of your plantation, the following breaches of the Native Labour Ordinance Regulations are recorded against the plantation manage ment:— (1) No “Employees Register” is kept vide NLO 96 (1). (2) Your employees have not been is sued with box capable of being locked. (3) Peas, beans, or lentils (i lb. daily to each employee) are not,issued. (4) Whole barley, wholemeal sharps, or wheatmeal (h lb. per employee/day) are not issued. (5) Tinned meat is not being issued in the correct proportion (4 4/7 oz, is the correct scale). (6) Coconut meat must be issued to ensure that the employees receive a minimum of 2 oz. (7) No sugar is issued. (8),No tea is issued. (9) No salt is issued. (10) Fresh fruit or its alternative must also be issued to ensure a minimum of the required amount being consumed. (11) Fortified edible dripping is not is sued. (12) (a) Some employees’ sleeping quar ters are overcrowded, (b) None of these dwellings allow ventilatiqn as prescribed.

(c) Floors do not conform to the regula tions. (13) Beds are not as prescribed, but may be left in use until a date to be advised. (14) The person who renders first aid to your employees has no approval from the Director of Public Health to do so. (15) There is no sick ward provided for employees. (16) No latrines are provided. (17) No particulars, of employees are kept.

A further inspection of your planta tion will be made within the next three months, and I trust there will be no repe tition of the above breaches.

THE above was referred to an official of the Planters Union, and the fol lowing interesting explanatory notes ddfted April 10, are appended;— (1) The NLO 96 (1) is unprocurable at most District Offices. (2) Boxes are unprocurable in this Territory and the Administration itself caflnot supply them. (3) Owing to the lack of inter-island shipping and shortages of goods gener ally, these cannot be procured. (4) Same answer as three. Outport planters cannot even obtain sufficient rice. Neither can the Administration offices, as is witnessed by the fact that the District Officer at Wewak is without rice and has been—like many store keepers in this district—without it for weeks. No shipping available to trans port it. At the moment the inter-island shipping position is in an awful mess. (5) Tinned meats generally are unpro curable. The quota for New Britain was granted to the larger firms, who appear to have represented that they are sup plying the planters’ requirements. The firms make sure their own requirements regarding plantations are met first. Ap plications by planters to the local Cus

toms officer either go unanswered or are refused. (6) Coconut meat is always available to the employees. Does the Inspector expect the planter to attend and see that the employee eats it? (7, 8 and 9) In many cases these sup plies are not available to planters, owing to shortage of shipping. Even limited quantities for personal use are hard to get. (10) Local fruits are always available to the employees and when supplied as part of their ration issue are thrown away (11) Is in very short supply and gener ally wasted when given. We find it hard to make the natives eat it. We have it, but they don’t like it. If they ate the present supply, our stocks would be hard to replace. (12, 13 and 14) These observations

could only be made by a person wholly unacquainted with local conditions. (16 and 17) Appear to be within reason.