TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 127, 29 May 1913, Page 8

TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

[<By«nEDUSTRLAI TRAMP.") UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. This Evening, May 2U.—Engine Drivers. Coopers, Ktectncal Workers. Friday. May Uo.—Bricklayers., Engineers (special). Monday. June 2. —Plasterers, Grocers' Assistants. Tailors. Shipwrights, DriTers. Timber Workers. Tuesday. June "..--Holiday. Wednesday, .lune i. —Soot Repairers. Thursday. .Tnne s.—Farriers, Hotel Employees, Nnrserymc.:. Curriers.

The Labour Day Celebration Committee for the present year, composed of two delegates from each union, held its first meeting on Tuesday evening last, there being a good attendance. The business consisted, for the most part, of the election, of officers, which resnlted: —President, ilr J. F. Derrick; vice-presi-dent, Mr. G. Pardington: secretary. Mr. •J. F. Catley: minute secretary, Mr. H. Carter; treasurer, Mr. J. Fawcus. The nucleus of committees for the sporte and procession weir appointed from those present, with power to add to the number. It was assumed that there will be a procession in the morning, as in other years, but it was not determined whether the procession should consist entirely of union members marching for display purposes, or whether trade and advertising displays should be allowed to take part. When the Labour Day celebrations were instituted year? ago, the display by unions marching in the procession wae a large one. but year 'by year the memhrrs' numbers dwindled away, until of la;p they may have-been estimated by hundreds instead of by thousands. Tn Melbourne, on the occasion of the celebration of last year's Bight Hour Day, t*e union members turned out in great number*, and It took 20 minutes for the procession to a point. In the circulars itsncti to th." local unions for laM Tuwsdav's meeting, each organi-

sation wn- asked whether its raenrhcrs would -march in the procession, and also lo forward an opinion as to whether purely advertising and trade displays should be permitted to rank in ibe procession, frwing to the unions not being nil represented at thp tir«t meeting, these questions were defprrpd until the ncr.i meeting on . .lnnr ISth. Since 1 -,\=t week the followine delegute? to the.lv!.' Congress hIITP !x*" pli-i-ted:— I'lirri-n- - Uni.ii-. P.. K. Wtiy:

\m.a!sramntpd Society .>: Carpenters anil • Ininers. T. B'.oo/f'worth. -I. Mitchell, and H. Bunfip.d. The Auck...n«i Keihnonpfr'i and Tanners' I'num meet, ..u .riitie lith. to ele.-t. delopalrv.

A rather novel rneihoH <•!* forwarrijn?. an a-jxjlogv f.>r noil-r.ttendances Jit .' | union meetin<r «;»s idnptod Uy an Auckland member b*t veel:. One of the rules of the union formerly i-rivided for] an apology being f-.irtbco'nMif; from absent in order In save the -poeificd fmp for iinii-alt-tuhincc. This led to members, eending verbal apologies by other members, or over the tpipphonp | to the office of ihe union, so the nilps| were amen.led to provide, that "the; apology shall be in -writing.' . Prior to j Ust -week's meeting, a memlier who had not made himself up-to-date in his knowledge of the -rules, rang up the secretary as of old, to account for his absence, and was promptly told that the old order had changed, and that, in order to snTe .1 fine, he must send in his apology in writing. Late in the afternoon the secretary was astonished by a lad coming into flip office with a piece of timber nearly 2ft long, planed on one eirfp. concon taming the required apology tor al> sence. written -with a carpenter's pencil, and duly signed. The apology was literally ''planked" , down on the table, and the lad walked off nonchalantly whistling a merry air: he luul delivered the missive "in writing." The secretary in question is now considering whether he will recommend .-> further alteration in tbe rule by the words "on paper," o>-

let the rule itnn-1 a> it i>. and keep bimself supplied with firewood. Ot one! thins b>> i« certain, unj that is. that; tbere is nl one member in his union possessed of the sen«e of humour. La*t week an import;-.nl addition to; the Labour orpinivalioii-. of the Dominion was made by the formation of ;i Women's Labour * League, though not under that siici-itii- appellalion. In response to a circular issued by an entliusiastic ladT in labour matters, about -10 ladies attended P. meeting lo consider the advisability of forming a society that should have for its object a more definite interest in labour politics than is professed by either of the -wom-enV organisations now in existence. In these, it is claimed, there arc ladies who are entirely out of sympathy with the claims of the workers, and it is proposed tfcat the new society shall show no .shadow of dubiety as to its objective. So far. the named of the new society has not been decided: that will form the business for the next meeting, bill it is whisbered that when formed it may even \>c represented 'by a delegate at the July Congress. In tbe meantime. I wish the venture every success. Tbere is plenty of room for a TV omen's La-bour on similar lines to those adopted by the Labour Women of Australia. The Maesey party has its Women's Reform Leagues;" there have been Women's Liberal Leagues; and why should not the La'bonr party also have a distinct sphere of work for tbe gentler sex? The anxiously-expected "Auddwnd Tramway Journal,' , published by the Auckland Tramway Union, is now in the press, and will makp its initial appearance on Monday next. June 2nd, but 1 am not yet at liberty to make any comment or" congratulation on its advent. That is reserved for a future occasion. Mr Pe,ter Bowling ie in trouble with some of the lodges in tbe Coal Miners' Union in N<?w South Wales. It is reported that tbe Corrimal Minere' Lodge has carried a motion calling on Mr Bowling to resign, and directing that he be given one month's salary in lieu of notice. The report states that other lodges contemplate -a similar resolution. Some time back the candidature of Mr Bowling ac an Independent for the Senate wae annonnced, but according to tjie list of nominations it hae not eventuated.

Will Crooks, La-bonr member for Woolwich (Eng.). thft other day moved to provide for a. minimum wage in the Old Country of thirty shillings per week. J. M. Robertson. Parliamentary Secretary to -the Board of Trade, in resisting the motion, declared that £200,000,000 would be required to carry it into affect. This means that the workers of GTeot Britain and their families are two hundred nriJXione per year ehort of the epending power that they "would have- if their wa-jjee averaged 30/ per week!

In the Federal Arbitration Conrt last week Mr Justice Higginß delivered judgment on the cla/im of the Postal Electricians' Union. lAinang- other ihfngs in the judge's award ie the following:

"The members of the union may Tvear a badge of membere-hip of the union while on duty. The union eaall be permitted

to display notices of, or relating to, its affaire in enita'ble places in the departniMxfc on ixxirde iound by the union, but the chief officer may forbid any offeneive or improper notice, or-cause it-<to be remo*«d. n The award is not to come into force nntil thirty -darjas- after it iae been laid before both Houses-of the Federal Parliament.

Tbe rule of 52 days reei per year on the railroads of Switzerrand is eaid to have helped more than any other cauee to reduce accidents due to vhe fault of employees by 53 per cent, and to prevent 72 per cent of bodily injuries. That ie the verdict of the United States "Labour apropos of t!ie proposed one-dav-in-eeven law in the States.

■Especial interest ie centred in the Wide B.iy Federal election, the seat now being contested in the Labour interest by Mr Usher, Prime Minister of tbe Commonwealth. -Formerly it contained Mr Fishere stronghold—Gyrnpie—bn>t on account of the rearrangement of the Queensland Federal electorates, the mining camp « now no longer part of the Wide Bay electorate. Some time back, just srfter the Queenelaiid State elections, when tbe voting ehowed a Liberal majority of over 2,000 in tbe Wide Bay district, there wae talk of Mr Fieher being given a sure Melbourne seat instead of his having to risk election in what ie mainly now a rural electorate. However, Mr 'Fisher has etood to his -rune, and despite all forebodings, be hae every eliance of a good victory, although be hae set himself the hardest task of any of his Ministry. 'His opponent on this oceaskin is Mr A. -Weinholt, formerly State member for Kaseifern. but who resigned to enter the liote against the Prime Minister. The Liberals profess to W confident of success, but the same profession was made in 1910. when Mr Kidston prophesied a majority of over -2,000 against Mr Ktelicr. The actual figures for Wide Bay in 1910 were: Fieher. 12,154; Pinmm. 10.303. Since -then the m-ina of Mr Fie-her hat considerably increased. State figures are not always a guide to Federal perils, and every indication poin-t«5 to Mr Fisher's winning Wide Bay with a majority of probably a t hoiisinrl votes. The two ton-THs in l)ic electorate. Maryborough and Btimlaberg. .ire expected to record a Labour vole easily siifiieient to counteract the Liberal vote anticipated in the fiirminfr rlwtrk-rs of the electorate. .Mr .lospph Cook. Leador of liie FediT.il Opposition, i- being opf>ra'"'ci by a j,li»djTPil labour candidate for I'.irramatta. Tirs p|fi-iiv»;e <u« also *u!T. -c,l a re-arr-iujteinrnl, (.Tiicrallv considered to bo mir favimring the Iy.il>oiir p.i-ty. OliiciaJis of I lie rwirty. however, rlou't e\ppct. r\cj-u!:vp of tbe p.irn ili-cideil punies! :h- rseat. The vol'ms at I i-t Federal j elfi-tiuti ra-: I'oiik, ll^RI: Krone, 0>570. Tlir ( (wkatoii boilernt;i!:oiv :ire •>■■[! nf iill.Mio.-v-. ami scvorjl of ;iipm i liivp h-ft for Newenetle. V'ift v-eifht :ollif-rn li.i vi- i.o.vircd with pri- ' jtp cniplnvr-n-. U'hi-n the men were inhl I wenty were required for Melbourne jlherr- iv.i? : i rueli to i!ic union office to iijind in iholr n-inirts. If tlipy continue to take up etn]>lnymeiit eltsp where at this rate. Do.-k will find it Jiflicult. lo fill their places, and the Federal Covprnnit-nr-j shipbuilding prol:nanrmc will be β-rionely interfered with.

A conference of the Federated Enginpdrivers' Association will bo held in the Beehive Chambe,rs. Wellington, in June. One of the principal -matters to be discussed wEI lie section 8 of the amended Inspection of Machinery Act, -with regard to an engine-driver being in effective charge of his plant. The interpretation of this clause toy the Inspection of Machinery Department has been the s.ibjfKrt of much dissatisfaction amongst tbe members of the various pngine-driv-ers' unions, aifd it is hoped to be able to have a rule framed to bear upon the subject. Another matter -will -be the question of bringing drivers of large gas pkini-s under the Act and making it compulsory for them to hold certificates similar to drivers of sie-im enginp3.

" It is understood that Uip new slaughtermen's union* formed this season since the strike in January arp to bp .registered by the Labour Department shortly. They m-,ule application to be rpgistcrcd sr.nip weeks ago, and the Department withheld registration, callinj! upmn them lo chow (M\i..e why their members could not belong to the existing union, and the only existing union having recognition in the distri.-ts concerned -Hawke's Biiy. Poverty Ray. and Wanpanui — is Ihe Wellinfflon SI a w;rhtermen's Union, now virtually defunct liv reason of the fact that no members of it are in the slaughtering induntry. The uni'uis have shown cause, which has been ticccptpd as adpquatc by the and thfy will bp rpgistprcd so soon as they have complied with the necessary formalitips. In Wellington an arbitration union was refrifcfercM some time ago, but the unions in the districts named, and possibly in others, do not care to hiilonjr to a central organisation in Wpllington, as was the system undpr the regime strikers' union. On top of this comes information that a well-known Queensland organiser in this industry is coming to N>w Zealand for the purpose of "organising all the rm>at workers of Maorifand into one big union." This is the outcome of a discussion at the recent conference of thp Australian. Meat Employees' Federation, held in Brisbane. The. organiser selectpd is Mr. J. Oramptrra. n man of wide experience in connection with meatworkers' orsanisaiion. Tn the past -a sharp line of -distinction has been dra-ran betwepn the slaughtermen and other grades of meal-workers. It is not im-proba-ble that: one of thp results of the new movement will bp to bnrsh a way some -of these internal barriers. The result of the new movempnt will be watched Trith interest.