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The work was casual, seasonal and of a 'one-off' nature, in that the labourers were hired at the beginning of harvesting and expected to remain in the employment of the grower until the completion of the harvest. It was upon completion of the farm's hop harvest that the hop-pickers were 'paid off' by the grower, although the tradition of 'subbing' was common, whereby the farmer would pay the picker a proportion of their wages to tide them over until the hopping was completed. The method of hiring was originally to contract out to a 'ganger' and ten workers, but by 1867 the first of the London hiring agents was founded, which enabled the farmers to reassert direct control over the pickers. The agency hiring system was soon replaced by direct correspondence between farmers and contacts made from previous years' picking. By the eighteen seventies the hop-growers had introduced a payment system consisting of piece-work for the pickers and dayrates for the bin-men. If the pickers came out on strike, the bin-man's wages would be stopped until work recommended. (12) The recollections of a Kentish hop-grower refer to these rules as they were published in "The Universal Hop Measurers Account Book" stating that the "Binman's wages to cease at the commencement of any strike." (13) The existence of a published set of rules regulating picking tends to imply that a degree of collective organisation among the farmers existed and that they felt it necessary to formally assert their control. Orwell speaks about every picker at Blest's farm being presented with a printed copy of the rules. (14)He suggests that the dual payment system of picking by piece-work and binning by the day wage contributed towards the pickers being held over a cleft stick by the growers:
"The binmen (i.e. foremen of gangs) get wages instead of being paid on the piece-work system, and these wages cease if there is a strike so naturally they will raise heaven and earth to prevent one." (15)
Contrary to Orwell's assumption that sectional differences of interest existed between the pickers and the bin-men, a closer examination of discontent and the organisation of work suggests otherwise. The men who came down from London with their families would usually secure jobs as bin-men and each family of pickers would have their own bin. (16) Thus, the piece-work earnings of the 'gang' or work group would concern the bin-man even though he was paid a day wage. This is borne out by the evidence of a hop-grower who described how the bin-men would "play for a set"or work a "go slow" policy to avoid having to pick in a bad part of the garden. (17)This showed that the piece-rate earning potential of a set was of interest to the bin-man. The unison between the pickers and the bin-men is by a report of a strike at Offham in which 700 pickers and 70 bin-men struck together for an increase in wages, even though the bin-men were on a day wage. (18) A likely source of conflict existed between the pickers and the 'measurer' or 'tallyman', as this was the point where the grower made his calculation of the amount of hops that the group had picked. There were two systems of collecting the hops employed in the Kentish fields. In East Kent the measurers came round and collected the hops from five or six bushel baskets which were placed at the end of each set, whereas in the Weald the measurer collected the hops from the bin at the end of each set and measured the hops using a one bushel basket before transferring them into a 'poke' which held ten bushels. e your text here. Type your text here. Type your text here. T. In the United States the measurement of hops is determined by weight rather than volume, and this decreases the likelihood of disputes between the pickers and the tallyman. (19) The Measurer or Tallyman would often be the farmer himself on the smaller farms, or relatives and full-time employees on the larger farms. Therefore, the Tallyman's interests would usually lie with the grower. The means by which the Tallyman measured the hops, depending upon whether he took the hops 'light' or 'heavy', was a cause for grievance amongst the pickers. Taking the hops 'light' meant that the pickers would have to pick less hops to the bushel, whereas taking the hops 'heavy' meant that they would have to pick more hops to the bushel. A letter to the Kentish Gazette in 1892 called for the Inspector of Weights and Measures to inspect "the so-called five bushel baskets placed before the poor, patient, long-suffering hoppickers.", as it claimed they had been known to hold anything up to ten bushels.(20) A recollection of a Maidstone picker from Reed Court Farm describes an incident in which pickers threw the Measurer in the river because he had been ordered by the farmer to take the hops 'heavy'.(21) Type your text here. Type your text here. Type your texA hopping song captures the feeling of mistrust that existed between the Measurer and the hop-pickers: "Our lousy hops! Our lousy hops! When the measurer he'd coms round, Pick 'em up, pick 'em up off the ground! When he comes to measure He never knows when to stop; Ay, ay, get in the bin And take the fucking lot! (22)
One picker has described two methods by which the pickers attempted to regulate the measure of their work. One method was to kick the bottom of the large five bushel basket so that its base would bulge inwards and thereby reduce the volume of hops it would hold. Another method was to ply the Tallyman with drink after lunch so that he would take short measures.
Another picker remembered how the tallest person in the gang would lean into the basket and shuffle the hops so that they would lay 'lighter'. She could also remember how the measuring basket was carefully guarded to prevent any of the pickers kicking the bottom and therefore shortening the measure.(24). |
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HOP-PICKING
HOP-PICKING | Rural Conflict and Strikes | The Hop-pickers Work | Who were the Migrant Pickers | Work Place Regulation | The Payment System | The Dynamics of Conflict | Conclusion | References | Hop Production in the UK | Reading
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Date Last Modified: 14/07/00