TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 43, 22 February 1924, Page 12

TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) TJNIOX MELTINGS FOR THE WEEK. "Monday. February 25—Bricklayers, Freezing Works' Employees. Painters. Tuesday. February 26—Tailors , Reunion. Wednesday, February 27 —Auckland Carpenters, Bootmakers, Onenung.i Carpenters. Thursday, February 28 — Engincdrlvers, Hotel Employees, Coopers. APPRENTICES. Since the drafting of the 1923 Apprentices' Act, and its adoption in its entirety by tl/e Parliament of last year, much has been written and spoken for and against the measure, which comes into force on April 1, 1924. A few weeks ago, an authority, who claims to be in touch with employers and employees. declared to a "Star reporter in Auckland, "There is undoubtedly a want of willingness on the part of employers to teach lads a trade, and the same remark applies to the employee; that is, the skilled tradesman." He gave as the reason that in j the keen competition that now exists jin business, no allowance is made for any loss that may be entailed in the teaching of apprentices. Tenders are called for the erection of a building, and the price is based on the cost of labour and material. The men who are actually employed on the job receive no consideration for instructing a lad, and unless the lad himself has a very strong personality and a good deal of push, there is a big probability he will never learn the trade. There is one point that must not be overlooked, and that is, that when a lad becomes apprenticed to a trade, it is the employer who binds himself t o teach the lad his trade, and when he dedicates that obligation to one of his journeymen, he cannot expect that journeyman to turn out the same amount of work in a day, as if his time and attention had not been taken up in carding out the legal obligation of his employer to train the lad in "the cunning and secrets of the trade." While publicity has been given ,to the pessimistic opinions of indivi- | dual emplo3 - ers, it is refreshing to note the healthy keynote struck on this question by several delegates at the N.Z. Builders' Conference, which is sitting in Auckland this week. Mr. A. Fletcher (Wellington) said that the builders had a responsibility to the public generally, and to the trade to see that sufficient boys were being trained to cope with the natural wastage of the trade, and to provide for its normal expansion. Employers must be taught to realise that there was a duty devolving upon them in the matter of taking apprentices that could not be shirked without serious consequences. Mr. J. H. Hutchinson (Auckland) supported the statement that employers did not take on a sufficient number of apprentices for training. If builders generally were to offer more opportunities for lads to receive practical training it would be greatly to the advantage of the trade." This is the right note to strike, and if the members of the different builders' associations in the Dominion will adopt the splendid lead given them by their delegates in this conference, we shall hear little or nothing of the sentiment expressed by the aforementioned authority a few weeks ago, when he said that "nobody wants to waste time in teaching a boy a trade." What would be said of a farmer who regarded the sowing of seed in springtime as "a waste of time?" After the seed-sowing comes the harvest, and there is a harvest in the industrial world, as well as in the j agricultural world. Another delegate at the conference eaid "that the present i shortage arose partly from the fact that many employers in the larger cities did not play the game, preferring to wait and get their-men after others had trained them as apprentices." After this expression of the delegates, I look for a better reception to the provisions of the new Apprentice Act. THE COURT AND THE PUBLIC. The Wellington "Dominion" presents an interesting view of the duty of the Arbitration Court in connection ■ with points arising out of its own decisions. While the Court should endeavour to make its pronouncements plain—as, indeed, it has taken special pains to do on several occasions—it cannot be expected to enter into controversies which in some eases would be interminable and in others useless. The "Dominion" says: — A position that is unusual and has some undesirable features has arisen in connection with the criticism by several Labour representatives of the methods by which the Arbitration Court has based standard wages in part on the official rent index prepared by the Government Statistician. The Courtobviously cannot be expected to engage in indiscriminate argument with selfappointed critics, and certainly is bound to ignore those who exceed the bounds of fair criticism and impeach its impartiality. There is no reason, however, why the Court, as a Court, should not deal with criticisms of its methods which have received prominent publicity. Any erroneous criticism tending to implant a false impression on the public mind might properly be made the subject of an explanatory statement by the CourtIn making such a statement the Court, of course, need take no notice of individual critics, and naturally would ignore irrelcvancies and merely captious I criticism. By its constitution the Court !is set aside and apart from anything in the nature of personal controversy. It would study the public interest, however, by clearing up any mistaken impression with regard to the statistical or other data on which its awards and decisions are based. VALUE OF TRADE UNIONS. Kathleen Derry, Canadian vice-presi-dent of the International Federation of Working Women, writing in .the "Alberta Labour News," gives a striking testimony to the value of trades unions: — The trade union is a great protector of individuality. It teaches a man or woman to realise his or her worth. It raises and protects the standard of the worker; it stands between him and the monotony of his work; it brings hopefulness, and with hope comes a greater joy in ■ life. A member of a union becomes an individual who steps out from the ranks and demands a share in the control of the conditions under which he shall work and the wages he shall be paid; in this way the job becomes his job, not merely a job, and surely this fact will tend to make the work more I interesting and joyous! In becoming a member of the union a man gains in self-respect, and commands more respect from his employer. The joining of the union places certain responsibilities I upon him, the carrying out of which will J add to the brightening of the day's toil.