TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 79, 2 April 1914, Page 8

TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

;(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) UNION MEETINGS FOII THE WEEK. This Evennlg. April 2—Farrier* Nurserymen. Moulders, Newmarket Carpenters. Friday, April B—Bricklayers. Saturday, April 4—Bakers. Fishcnrers. Monday, April ti—Plasterers, Shipwrights, Drivers, Tailors, Tainters, Timberworkers. Tuesday, April 7—Sheet Metal Workers, Slaughtermen. Saddlers. Wednesday, April B—Gas Employees.

The Dominion award in the plumbing trade has been delivered by the Court. It comes into force on April 6th, and is made fol" a term of two years. For a long time past the plui:ibers in the northern industrial district have been receiving higher pay and better conditions generally. than those in the South, and it is only to be expected therefore tha.t the lower-paid', districts beneiit ■much more substantially in a Dominion award than other districts where a more militant unron has been in exist-' ence. This is true of the Auckland plumbers, and the only satisfaction they can experience is that of "the greatest good to the greatest number.' , Tt \3 •generally understood that a Dommioii award 'makes for uniform conditions in all district*, but in this -award there is a elight variation for instance, in the c-laur-e relating to suburban w-ork. fe'.ie definition of what constitutes suburban work U work performed outbide a radius ol two .miles from the employer's pte.ee of bueiness; in Dunedin, outside a radius of one and a half milee of the G.P.O. and all other .places, outside a ■radius of one and a half miles from the employers place of business, but does net in «ny case im-lude work which comes within the definition of country work. What the unkm members cannot understand is tlvat any difference eh-ould "op made at all in what professes to be. tiniiOTni conditions. In the memorandum to the award the jurlfre save, "AYe .have, however, nicrfied the preference clause so as to bring it into conformity .vith prior Dominion awards, and we repeat that exce.pt under special c.ircu mis tan.ins the Court, in .making a Dominion award, will adhere to what .'s known as the eouri"' clause relating to ■preference/

There is an ominou3 ring a.Wut this announcement, and e<H?ing thte is one of the first aiwa-rdfi delivered by the ucw president; unions are not led au.iy with the hope 'that there in to be any great iroprovero-ent/ in .the pre-ference clausi;, ■ lieu left to be settled by the court itself. Whatever improvement is to be gained, muet in future, be settled by the pa-rties concerned in the Conciliation Council.

The Auckland Ooachworkere' Union of Workers are t-rking up the question of the inadequate duty on imported motor car (bodies, and have approached the local employers with a view of getting their co-operation in "forwarding a petition to Parliament in favour of increaeed duties."' Letters hai - e ateo been sent to the other ooaehworkcrs' imions in the Dominion, asking to take siraila-r action with their employers, as well as to appoint deputations to meet with tbeir respective members of Parliament on the matter, just prior to the opening of tliifl year's session- It may ibe mentioned that the Dominion master coadifouildera are holding their annual conference at Auckland tit Easter, and in all probability the nixtreT will be dealt with at one -of its meetings.

In the flying hours of last session of Parliament, to .be precise on December 15th, the Labour Keputee Investigation Act, 1913, wae passed, which came into operation yesterday. April let, which •will render a legal strike, without due notice being given, an utter impossibility to unions wjiether registered or unregistered. Notice of any dispute with emiployens must be given to the CVlinisteT for Labour by a society of workers. The Minister shall then either Tefer the matter to a Conciliation Commissioner, or Tefer tbe dispute to a Laibonr Dispute Committee, to be eet up, coneteting of not less than three nor more, than seven members, as <letermined iby the Minister. The members of the committee, other than the chairman, shall be appointed respectively by the society ■or societies of workers, party to the dispute, an equal number being appointed to represent the workers and employers respectively - . The membere co appointed nha-ll proceed to elect some other person as chairman, but in the event of failure to do so the Minister shall .then appoint the chairman. AfteT investigation the committee shall endeavour to arrive at a settlement, and report accordingly. The recommendations of the committee are to be publiehed in a newspaper or newspapers circulating in the district. If a settlement is not arrived at within fourteen days of .the firet notice of the dispute being cent to the 'Minister a secret 'baljot, of the union ot unions of workers affected is to be taken under the super-vicsi-on «f th<; Registrar <if Industrial Unions. The questions to ibe submitted to the ballot are—•<(&) 'Where recommendations for the settlement of the dispute have not been made by a Labour Dispute Committee on .the question whether a strike shall take place; or (b) Where recommendations for the settlement of the dispute have been made on the question whether the eaid recommendations shall be adapted. Aβ soon as practicable the Registrar fehall notify the result by notice published in the newspapers circulating in the district. Of course, if the union decides to declare a strike after these formalities have been observed the strike would then be a legal 'one, but as the formalities may run into a month the strike would be a harmless one, as "forewarned is (forearmed." The penalties provided for .engaging in an illegal strike are .mere trifling ones, ranging from ten pounds for an individual to one thousand pounds for a union. There are other interesting items in this very interesting Act that spa.cc will not allow mc to note, but to those unions that are inclined to etriko in the future I can only give "IPunchV .famous advice to those about to marry viz "Bon'.t." The result of the election for office™ and committee of the Auckland General labourers' Union for the ensuing term is declared as follows:— President, R. J. Heffron; vice-president, jr. Derrick; secretary, Wesley Richards; treasurer, W. Patterson; committee, J. Ellis. J. Lea, J. Wilson, W. Xoble, G. R. Phillips, J. Monaghan and F. Ness. The British trade unions are gradually completing their ballots under the Trade Union Act to enable them to establish funds for political action. '"The National Union of Clerks" have decided in favour of political action by I,SS4 to 510.

Mr. James Wardley, thjs president of the Melbourne Operative Bilkers' Society, claims to be the oldest trade union official in the world. Born |in Devonshire in 1815, he arrived in South Australia in 1852, and worked at his i trade in Adelaide for 14 years. He went to Melbourne in 1867, and has been a member of the union ever since. Mr. Wardley is one of the most valued members of the Trades IlalJ Council, and last year he was appointed to represent that body at the annual Eight Hours celebration in Sydney. Though he is less than two years off the century, he is in excellent health, and retains the whole of hie faculties unimpaired. j The dispute in the North Staffordshire coalfield on the non-unioniet question was settled reeentty] the four unions concerned accepting the terms offered by the colliery owners. The latter "recognise that in the 'interests of employera and employees aljike all the workmen shall he members of a trade union." They promise to continue their efforts to induce any non-unionists to join their union, and to give the unions facilities for securing and maintaining membership. The owners also agree to meet the unions periodically! to deal with listri of members who may be in arrear with subscriptions.

Part of a manifesto in Xew South Wales by the Rural VVorkers' Section of the A.W.C. and entitled "The Gloves are Off," states: —"The time has come to demand tliat the agricultural industry of Australia shall no longer pay the lowest wages in the, continent. That farm labourers ehall iieecivc better food than the poorhousej rations hitherto given to them, and tmat accommodation better than harness ribom?, old strippers, and chaff sheds s'ualji "bo provided for them after their hardiday's toil. The time has come also to show that where men are asked to work fit 12 and 14 hours a day they should receive wages for 12 or 14 hours, not an !s-hour wage for a 12-hour day. which jtiie Tanners have been in the" habit of paying."

.Not content with ithe succe.'s attending their negotiation* with the London Master Tailors' Association, -which resulted in an increase [in the rate per log hour, the Amalganiaied Society of Tailors and Tpfloresses,! through the London Management Crimmitteo, of which Mr. M. Daly is seerjitary. are now engazed with' the representatives of the Association of London Master Tailors in discussing a time [log for the making of officers' uniforms, botn military and naval. With this object, prolonged conferences are being Veld between representatives of the Amalgamated Society and the employers' association. Disenssion is alsotakiig pla<-c in regard to alteration logs, applicable to both sections of the trad;. The question of giving additional payments for tho making of garments which ore over a certain measurement has been settled, and an award has been given in this connection at a recent meeting of the Conciliation Board.