TRADE & LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 51, 28 February 1906, Page 8

TRADE & LABOUR NOTES.

■ (Industrial Tramp.) Th? building trade iv the city is fairly good this week, consequently there are ; very few good men unemployed. The furniture-ma king trade is very j slack this veek. and at least tiro of the | largest factories have given some of their j men a fortnight's holiday- i The plumbing and gasfitting trade is j fairly brisk jn-t now. and very few good men are unemployed. I The ironmoulding and engineering trades are still bad, and a very large number of men are unemployed. Mr. E. Phelan. .2Pner.il scretarv of j the North Auckland Timber Workers' j Union, is ajrain in town. He reports \ things as being fairly good on the Wai- I roa. The timber milling industry in the town is still fairly active; there being very few good men unemployed. The ship, vac-lit. and boat building . trade is slack, and a good number of i Tr.'-n are seeking employment. The housepainting and dec-orating trade? is brisk, there being very few good men unemployed. Coachbuilders are fairly busy just now. and Urdou men find ready employment. The building trade, with the solitary excep: ;on of Christchurch, is good . throughout the South, and first-class men an? in demand. Trade, generally sneaking, in Australia ! at the present tim> is satisfactory, and j the opinion is expressed that things will better in th? course of a few months- ' The furniture trade is exceedingly good. ! The boot and shoe making trade is pro- I bably better locally than it- has been for : some time. Ther,3 is indeed a scarcity ! of female machinists. In the saddle and harness making trades business is slack, and a very j large number of good men are unem : j ployed. The unskilled labour market continues ; brisk locally, aud contractors find a lot i ol trouble in obtaining suitable men. Bricklayers arc very busy throughout the colony just now. and there have been I srveral applications for men in Auck- j land to go South during the past week. , The building- trade is still very bad iv I the United Kingdom, and in most of the large cities thousands of men are i unemployed. To encourage the industrial training of girls leaving schools, the London ' County Council is offering a limited ' number of scholarships affording two j rears' training in dressmaking, uphol- ! sterv. and other skilled trades. The Amalgamated Society of Car- ; penters and Joiners aud the Car- j penters' and Joiners' Union of Can- j terbury have jointly issued a statement ! that although with the exhibition and j other large works in prospect, the trade , is unusually active in Christchurch. the \ influx of men from all parts of the col- j onv has been so considerable that not ! only has the demand been exhausted. but many have been unable to _ secure ; employment, and are in considerable j straits- The joint executive of the two \ societies considers that « carpenters throughout the colony should be warned that the cry of "pkmtv of work and insufficient labour" is entirely erroneous, and likely to remain so. Svduev Eight-Hour Demonstration: and' Art" Unit"! in October last panned j out a profit of £ 1 __?. £1000 of this ; was handed over to the Trades Hall fcui'din.s fund. Southralian Premier Price has promised to investigate the railway engine- | drivers' protest atrainst the long hours j they have to work. One case was cited ; where a driver worked 19* hours at a j stretch. 20.000 signatures were attached to a petition at Cardiff (Eng.'>. praying the' Government to introduce a bill restrict- | ins the employment of foreign seamen in | the British mercantile marine. Evi-1 dently we Australians are not the only j people who want our own work given j to our own people. Bishop Gore, of Birmingham, told the j London Christian Social Union that he j gladly welcomed the more adequate representation of Labour in Parliament, and i he was confident, no matter what mis- j takes Labour members might make, that j that was the only way to bring about I s proper appreciation of the evils which I all desired to see remedied. Something approaching a deadlock has occurred in the New South Wales Ar-1 bitration Court. The situation has j arisen because of a recent judgment of j the High Court in what is known as the I Pelaw Main case. That judgment has I rendered if necessary that in order to j establish the jurisdiction of the Arbi-1 tration Court it must be proved in each case that a dispute exists between the members of an industrial union of em- i ployees and an individual employer. Of ; the numerous cases set down for hearIng the majority have been prepared in ! such a way that it is possible to prove ; only a dispute arising between em-' plcyees and an association of employers. ; The whole of the cases listed came with-1 in this category, and they wre all adjourned. Judge Heydon suggested that! a specially-selected case should be ar- j gued. an award made, and the question referred to the High Court for decision. I The days when salt junk was the! etaple article of diet in the forecastle I are disappearing. A witness in the Ar- j bitration Court at Sydney. Mr Reid. : manager at Newcastle of the business of J. Fenwick and Co., declared that the meals provided for the crew of their! tugboat Victoria were perhaps better! than in his own home. If you went I down at meal time you would find them | having pressed tongues and cold salad i for tea. The crew of the Victoria. Mr Reid also stated, got considerable time off on Sundays, and had 50 out of the j 52 Sunday nights in the year free. Reporting to the New South Wales Premier for the month of January. Mr W. F. Schey, Director of Labour, draws attention to The revenues recently produced by the Labour Depot and Refuse ' at Bunnerong-road. From one acre of I asparagus £01 was taken, from peas I during the season £2-4-5. and from pota-' toes which are now being dug over £So| has already been realised. Durjno- the j month reported upon, 410 | assisted, and sent to work, and railway jackets io the value of £69 were ad- { vaneed.