ARBITRATION COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 298, 16 December 1902, Page 3

ARBITRATION COURT.

TYPOGRAPHICAL DISPUTE*

(Before Mr Justice Cooper, Messrs. Brown and Slater.)

The hearing of this dispute was resumed yesterday afternoon.

Michael Connolly, a newsroom foreman, gave evidence on the demands of the union. He considered 3d per thousand without "fat" a fair rate for day work j- on the linotype, that rate with fat being too high. He preferred measuring the output by letters and not by en quods, and 6500 letters was a fair minimum. The clause restricting the number of apprentices to five was unfair to the large offices., The bonus system was good from a business point of view, but it produced disharmony in the office. It would be better to pay the men by piecework. In the large newspaper offices witness considered it would be unwise to limit the apprentices to live because the apprentices were required to fill vacancies among the linotype operators, stone hands, readers, and sometimes the members of the literary staffs. Angus Campbell, jobbing compositor, said he agreed with all the demands. He approved of the limitation of apprentices in view o' ! the increased use of machinery. The proportion fixed would give one apprentice to every six journeymen in the largest firm. He considered a jobbing compositor was as highly skilled as a carpenter or a bricklayer, and was entitled to £3 per week of 4S hours. Frank Armiger, linotype operator, also approved of the demands. He considered an increased wage was justified by increased cost of living, the brisk state of the trade, and the fact that Auckland men were quite as skilled as higher paid men in Wellington and other towns of the colony. The increased wage would m the end be paid by the general public The Wellington printing firms had a tariff of prices for printing work, and he saw no reason why the Auckland printers should not also a _-cc upon a tariff. Walter Stone, linotype operator, and Nicholas Honeycombe, stone hand, also gave evidence, and trie further hearing was adjourned tin this afternoon.