...But Cooks Plug
pp. 34-35 · Read in the full issue
A Labour Gap
Prom a Rarotonga correspondent An amendment to the Cook Islands Industrial and Labour Ordinance 1964 which will ban the recruitment of Cook islanders for work overseas, mainly in New Zea land, without the approval of the Minister of Emigration, was des cribed by Premier Sir Albert Henry as an “anti-blackbirding measure” when he discussed it with PIM.
The amendment, passed by the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly in mid-April, makes it an offence for anyone, whether resident or not within the Cook Islands “to recruit, or cause to recruit or attempt to re cruit any person or persons for em ployment outside the Cook Islands”, unless a prior application to do so is made in writing to the minister.
Any approval given by the minis ter may contain such conditions as he feels necessary and may be re voked or the conditions altered at any time, and the minister’s decision will be final. Penalties of a $5OO fine or six months imprisonment are provided for those found guilty of breaking this law or using fraudulent details in their applications.
Talking to PIM, the Premier denied that his government was in terfering with individual liberty.
People, as was their right, were free to go to New Zealand. They were not seeking to change that.
“What we are doing”, said Sir Albert, “is preventing something which is very much like blackbirding in the old days—the exploitation of workers by organisations recruiting labour for work in New Zealand. We want to make sure that anyone going to work in New Zealand has a pro per job, with good living conditions and wages, and, above all, does not
abandon his family in the Cooks.
“Under the amendment, anyone going to work in New Zealand will be forced to make proper provision for dependants in the Cook Islands.
Unless there is a guarantee that his wife and children will be provided for, no Cook islander recruited for work in New Zealand will get a
permit.
“In the past there was a weakness in the law. Men went to work in New Zealand and left their depend ants without any means of support.
This has to stop. There must be a proper agreement to protect families”.
During the debate two Opposition members, Mr P. Tangata and Dr P.
Robati, said that the new legislation interfered with the rights of the in dividual. Mr Tangata said that about 900 people had left the Cooks to work in New Zealand in recent months, and pointed out that the basic wage rate in Rarotonga is 35 cents an hour but that in New Zea land Cook Islanders could earn between $1.50 and $2 per hour.
Dr Robati said there were un employed people in the Cook Islands and it was only through the recruit ment schemes that they were able to travel to New Zealand, their fares having been paid for them. Then they were employed at good pay rates and sent some money back to their families in the Cook Islands.
He added that he had talked to a company agent recruiting labour for NZ and the company would not ac cept recruits unless they were certain that there was good accommodation for them. He had seen the agent’s papers and found that two recruits had been rejected because the com pany was uncertain about their ac commodation. He couldn’t see what was wrong with people helping Cook islanders in this way.
Leader of the Opposition, Dr T.
Davis, said that as the bill stood it was aimed at individuals and not the
recruiting organisations. He proposed
amendments to aim the bill clearly against recruiting bureaus. He felt that the penalties could be left in if they were directed against recruiting organisations and not against Cook Islands citizens trying to help relations or friends.
The Premier agreed with the amendments and mentioned that in March a representative of a NZ firm came to Rarotonga to recruit 20 girls to work in an Auckland factory.
The government refused permission, but said that if the company estab lished a Cook Islands branch they could have as many girls as they wanted. The company is considering the suggestion.