TRADE AND LABOUR. NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 60, 12 March 1926, Page 13

TRADE AND LABOUR. NOTES.

(By INDUSTRIAL TEAMF.)

UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Fatariisj-, March IS I -E'ellmongers. Monday, March 15 — Furniture Trades Quarterly. Hairdressers. Tuesday. March 16—Plumbers, ■ Furniture Trade (Kattan Workers). T'nursdav, March IS—Trades and Labour Council, Moulders, Belated Printing Trades. - ■■ - - - ....'. EDEN BY-ELECTION. The members of the Eden branch of the Labour party, have chosen Mr. H. (•. R. Mason as the Labour candidate at the impending by-election in that constituency. ' Oat of the four candidates who submitted their claims to .a selection ballot, Mr. Mason, who has contested the seat in . the interests of Labour, at. the two preceding general elections, polled over 80 per - cent of the total of votes cast. Now that % the preliminaries have . been disposed of, both Reform and Labour candidates will get into the fight •in earnest, for "tims ia the essence" in these; matters. . BREACHES OF AWARDS. The Industrial. Conciliation' and "Arbitration Act, was framed to- prevent industrial strikes, by providing fair working conditions for all sections of workers by means of awards or industrial agreements, which recognise a basis upon which employers and workers could stabilise their operations for one, two or three years. It also aimed at •meting out justice to all who failed to carry out the awards or agreements, whether they be employers or employed. In the- earlier period of the. Act, breaches -were fairly numerous, .the award "was ah innovation, and it wa-g only to be expected- that many .on either side .would overlook the requirements of the law; arid one has only to look over the earlier volumes of awards to note that many pages have been occupied in proceedings for breaches of awards, and these • breaches were not always-confined. to those, ignorant of their -working . conditions, for, some were, occasioned by'the otherwise; careful and. calculating .persons." At , one time in the'history of the Act, when a mnion instituted proceedings for" a breach before the Court, any fine ■. inflicted) by-way -of-pehalty, went 'to tie prosecuting, union, but 'the Act -was amended'■ by-~'which, "irrespective •' of •whether the* union or the 3>abour Deinstituted' 'the "action, , any fines-fora breach,' ;\vent jfito; the 'consolidated revenue, and, this is -quite right. Since~')then, although "the right to prosecute ifoT; breaches ?3 < s.tillby. unions, it hae followed that the bulk of such work is done by .the Labpur Department, in. each centre,' after the matter has been' referred to 'Wellington as to..whether.there.is.. &.. case -or not. The union secretaries at the Trades Hall;" have/'long'beeii | sensible of. the' fact that. although more alleged breaches have been reported by unions to the Labour Department. than in former years,, there has, been a .marked diminution in the number "of prosecutions, .undertakes,, and ,tjiis_ is, regarded as an indication of the fact that a Reform is_in power,_and is aversej to industry being harried .in any way.: Every week numerous alleged breaches by employers are fonyarcfed'by the unions to the Department for -investigation and action, #nd invariably after waitinar weeks , a reply is received. "That investigations have proved the allegations" : to bo correct ■: -xh'c matter has now bee:) fixed Up. and a- 'strong letter of warning been sept to. flic enjplover."' But if the workers or their unions transgress. the Department appears to be singularly ready to immediately prosecute with, "the" utmost promptitude. The recent case of the jjroscc-ution" of .the crew'of thc'Mataiigi is an example of what may happen wbentranfegrcssion is on- , the part of the men or their union'; ' The still more recent instance; of the prosecution of tbe.;mtai ; an the Waitomo for refusing- to go. tb; sea is another case that Tnay. be noticed. Theifact that the'food-was unfit, for iiuman consumption by the crew mitted on the evidence adduced, but'the magistrate Tightly held that this was/no, valid excuse for refusal of. the msn. :to litroceed to sea, they khould havetaken the proper remedy, and had the food inspected. ' The Trade Union secretaries offer no word in palliation of the act of the seamen, they merely quote the cases as instances of punishment being meted out to the workers, "srhilo breaches by the other ' side ' are passed over. Trade Union officials hold' : that the motto of the Labour Department should be "Fiat justitia ruat coelum" (let justice be done though the heavens fall.). ' . :'■ ... " TRADE UNION FUNDS. I:| ; NEGLECT 6[FUcCOUXTS; - . ! In ; view of occasional, trouble in ttis' part of the world-in- connection' with: trade union-: accounts i---the Seamen's Union funds: i: being a case;in point .at the momenfce-menibers of such bodies will no doubt lie interested in .the censure recently passed '. ; by the Tower Bridge (London )■ magistrate upon the officials of the 'National Council of General, and Municipal Workers, when sentencing . George \ . fHeiiry Dawjes, branch, secretary, to . thjree months in the second division for.stealing 32/ from the • union's ;fiitwis. Falsification of accounts was-alleged,' the-total involved being .£BIO. •.--. :''■:. ■-.. ..,'.. •, John Ravenhill Burnett, organiser, said embiEzzlement had averaged £45. a quarter' since September, 1921... When. JBurnett and: another organiser,- Giarles Edward Knight, agreed tnat.Dawes had..taken" tull- responsibility for the magistrate remarked, suppose '■■ you felt relieved?" •"•'.' r ... : " / " '.

"Why accounts should .have.be.en left not added up for fpar years I "cannot conceive," said- the magistrate/ "I look upoh that as a wicked and /improper encouragement of dishonesty, a help" to a course of fraud which should have been stopped at the '. beginning by the officials." .-'. - .", ' -