CONCILIATION BOARD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 196, 18 August 1900, Page 2

CONCILIATION BOARD.

THE TAILORS' DISPUTE.

After we went to press yesterday afternoon the, Board of Conciliation for the Auckland district continued" the hearing of the dispute in the tailoring trade in Auckland.; The \ Rev. A.- H. Collins (Chairman of the Board) presided over the proceedings. ~ ■

Some discussion, took place on the'subject of tailoresses and their work. Mr Stewart, for the operative tailors, said there was considerable danger that the men tailors would be driven1 out of the trade by the girls if the present state of things continued. • There were tailors in Auckland, men with wives and' families, whose average weekly wage for the year did not come to more than 25/. There should be one gi.rment reserved for the men; the girls might leave the coats to the men. The tailors contended that coat-making was not adapted for women workers because the tailoresses were not physically qualified to do the pressingthat had to be done by the men. ■ Mr Wright said the master tailors and the employees had agreed on the whole of the log as regarded the men; the tdiloresses' question would be referred to the Board.' Mr Wright went on to Say that if the tailoresses1 wage was to be raised to the same as that of the men it would be a great hardship to the employers as well as the girls themselves. The only "pressing", he saw In the matter was trying to press the girls out of the trade. Mr>.F. M. icing1 said, in reference'to a remark of, Mr Wright's, the wholesale manufacturers whom he represented did not compete' on equal terms with the master tailors; their trade was not retail, as was that of the master tailors Mr Wright said the whole log, as amended, in conference, would be printed and . then . submitted to[, the Board' for approval. ;• .;.. . >-

• Mr Stewart said the thanks of the Union were due to the master tailors for the.way in,which they had met the employed. Very favourable terms, on the whole, had been obtained for the men. The operative tailors had no de-< sire at all to injure the position of the masters; on the contrary, they desired to assist and protect the master tailors, who deserved support, as against the firms which'did order tailoring work at factory prices and thus competed with "the master tailors. The factories were selling in unfair competition with merchant tailors.^ Tho wholesale firms should come under the head of the order trade. ~•■ , . i -....■

Mr King, as. representing the Wholesale Clothing Manufacturers', Union, repeated that ;the .wholesale people sold no goods to the consumer direct. The goodß went to the stores and were sold there. They, took .nojorderfc from the consumers; they did "chart" order work, he admitted, but they did notdo a retail trade. This was why, he considered the wholesale manu-

facturers should be exempted from the!' award of the Board. For the wholesale), people, he would undertake that no orders' would be taken direct from the customer, "\ Mr Wright asked for an adjournment ;, In order that the matter of the tailoressea might be considered. Mr E. W. Alison said it was very satisfactory to find the tailors' log had been agreed upon as between the masters anj the men.^y '. \ Mr Wftght said that if an adjournment ' was granted those interested would discuss in conference the; difficulty of tha ' tailoresses. , j Messrs Mcßride and Dalton spoke, giv» ing reasons why they should not ba brought under the award of the Court,'' Mr Dalton said two-tHirds of his trada was wholesale. The conditions in ,h,is case were entirely different to,those iq ~j the shops of the retail tailors. 1 Mr Alison thought an adjournment nowl, ~;■ might serve a good purpose by enabling ;; the employers to meet and discuss their ; dispute and, if possible, come into line i with each other. In a similar dispute in ~; the South the Arbitration Court had'decided it had no jurisdiction in the matter- and, in view of this, it was highly' desirable that the employers should, i£ possible, come to an agreement amongst thThTVoard decided to adjourn till next) ' Thursday, it being understood that ,yj* , : would confer in the meantime,