TRADE & LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 15, 18 January 1905, Page 10

TRADE & LABOUR NOTES.

(By Industrial Tramp.)

Trade in all branches is rather dull in tbe city. The. building trade in Napier. Palmerst.oii North and Wellington is rather brisk, and good tradesmen can easily obtain employment. The timber industry in the town is lair. About 100 mechanics and unskilled labourers arrived here from Sydney oil fc-miday- last. At tho usual monthly meeting o£ the Auckland United Furniture Trades Union on Friday last the sum of -IU was voted to the Labour Day Water Carnival Committee to help lo defray expenses incurred. The Seamen's Cnion and bootmakers have also each voted a sum for the same purpose. At the Trades and Labour Council's annual meeting last Wednesday the ele.-tiou of officers resulted as follows: President. Mr J. Derrick: vice-presi-dent. Mr T. Phillips: secretary. Mr -V. Rosser; treasurer. Mr F. Niddrie: assistant secretary. Mr H. Hatley; auditors, Messrs 11. Banfioltl and \\ . Fowler. After thanking the outgoing secretary for his services for the past twelve m-otiths the Couucil voted him a bonus of c id. The Boot and Shoemakers' Conference, which sat in Wellington last week. rescinded the resolution of the last Conference re a permanent secretary for the colony. The shipbuilding trade is again becoming brisk. Cnion ironmouldcrs at Memphis (U.S.A.) have been gaoled for quitting work and asking other- to join them. The number of registered unemployed in Leeds in November last was well over 3000. The, number of paupers relieved in England and Wales in July of last, year showed an increase of 30.232. as compared with the same day the previous year. In London the increase was .3133. The furniture-making trade throughout the colony is rather dull just at present. The situation of the unemployed in England is becoming daily more grave. Each town at the present time numbers I it- uuempJoyed by the thousand. Country work is again in full swing. anil there is a. good amount of work to be. obtained in the (lax-mills. All branches of the building trade in the cily are at present overstocked. Saddle and harness-making is still fairly good. The coachbuilding trade is fairly busy. The following is the opinion of the Commonwealth Labour leader. Mr Watson: "He believed that, as now passed, the Federal Arbitration Act would be ineffectual, as it would be impossible to comply with the conditions." hi IW4 the Brotherhood of Carpenters, U.S.A.. increased their membership by 46,368: won 22_!0 strikes and lost 5; and successfully resisted all attempts to reduce wages. Mr Wise, ex-Attorney-General and author of the N.S.W. Arbitration Act, Bays; "The Arbitration Act is a verygreat success, although a great many people raised a protest against it. Some people prophesied that the Arbitration Act would drive capital out, of the 1 country ami do all sorts of things, but so far their prophesies have been falsified. During the three years in which It he Act has been in operation the country has shown greater progress- in indu-trial development than it has ever done before." Giving evidence before the Federal Navigation Com mission, the financial secretary of the Sydney Wharf Labourers' Cnion said thai many of the accidents which befell waterside workers arose through the use of defective gear iiboardship, particularly on "tramps,"' and he advocated Government inspection to obviate this. He also stated that men suffered severely through having to carry the large bags of wheat, weighina: nearly 400 lbs in many instances, and lie thought the maximum weight should be fixed in the bill at 200lbs. although personally he favoured ISOIbs. Captain 1). Dakin. master mariner and assessor to the N.S.W. Marine Court, giving evidence before the Federal Navigation Commission, was asked why the officers clid not form a union. He replied: "Well, to tt-ll you the truth, they're scared. The power of the shipowners is so great that, the officers are frightened to do anything. lam speaking from my own experience as organising secretary since ~IH9O. Any man of the cloth who comes out from amongst, us to attempt to organise has the whole Commonwealth of shipowners banded together to hound him down. The Chairman: This is a very serious statement. Witness: It is serious, but I can subtantiale .it, They went so far as to tryto block mc from getting my appointment as assessor. More officers are required. The conditions on the coasting and inter-State steamers were very much worse than on the foreign-going vessels." The building trade throughout South Africa i- depressed. The November report of the National Federation of Building Trade Employers in South Africa gives some interesting facts in this respect, in regard to Durban the federation states that plans have been passed by the municipality during November to the value of £44,863. Most of the large buildings are nearing completion, and but few large contracts are in the market to take their place. Wages remain the sanie, and labour plentiful. As tn East London the report states that "things generally are very bad. several contractors having practically nothing in hand." But there is a general feeling that there will be a revival in the trade early next year. At Capetown ''business amongst builders is very quiet." At Maritzburg "the building trade is still very depressed." Work is slack at. Bloemfontein. "but bettor times are anticipated with the new year," and there arc a great number of unemployed there. The trade is "fairly brisk" iit Johannesburg, and as to Pretoria, there is very little improvement, and keen competition for what is going. Of Kimberley it is reported: "The state of the building trade here is still the same, or. if anything, worse." For the first time in the history of Turkey a strike has taken place. *The workmen at the factory of tbe tobacco regie, dissatisfied with the introduction of machinery for making packages, attacked their superiors, wounding one of them severely. They also demanded increased wages, threatening in the event of a refusal to leave work. The Ministry of Police, on being informed of these events decided tbat, a strike being equivalent td a revolutionary movement, all the instigators should be arrested. The result is that 220 workmen are now in prison. This method of dealing with disaffection is certainly summary, and should likewise be. effective.