TRADES AND LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 16

TRADES AND LABOUR NOTES.

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.)

UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Monday February '25.—Bricklayers, Drivers'

Committee, W.E.A. Wednesday, February 27.—Alliance o)' Lab-

our. Thursday, February 2S.—Boilermakers, Tramway Employees (A.M. and 1'.M.1. Plumbers' Educational. Saturday, March 2.—Bakers. LOCAL. llr. T. Cain, secretory of the Auckland Engincdrivers' Union, leaves for Wellington by Monday night's _ express on Departmental business for his union, lie returns on Friday. Mr. W. Miller, secretary of the New Zealand Storenien and Packers' Federation executive, leaves for the South by to-morrow evening's express to conduct the federation dispute before the Conciliation Commissioner at Christchurch on Wednesday. He returns at the end of the week.

llr. H, Campbell, secretary of the Painters' Union, is away on annual holidays. He returns on Saturday.

The Bakers' Union is making great preparations for the new Dominion award, the claims for which will include higher wages, and a reduction of the working week from 40 to 44 hours. The present award expires in April, and the new claims will be ready for filing as early as allowed by the Act. For female workers the claims will ask for the same, wages as journeymen, under the axiom of "equal pay for equal work," for in the lighter branches, such as pastry making, it is found that the women workers turn out just as creditable work as the men bakers. And this is only to be expected, for all of us at some time or other in our lives have drawn favourable attention to "mother's baking," but I never yet heard of a man or woman who expatiated on the merits of father as a pastrycook. The perennial question of daylight baking, on which the Bakers' Unions have an unalterable opinion, is held up this time until Parliament meets again. In the new claims the unions ask for the starting time for the day to be not earlier than 4 a.m., and finishing time not later than 9 p.m.

§ Last week the Auckland dairy cni- | ployees' dispute, was opened in Concilia- | tion Council before Mr. P. Hallv, the 0 union asking for a six-day week for the | roundsmen, a concession that has been | in operation in Wellington for some | years past. This does not mean that 5 Wellington has to do without its milk 1 delivery on the Sunday, but each rounds- | man is relieved one day in seven, thus I getting his day off. At the council last 6 week an employer made certain propol sals to the union in an effort to reach I a settlement, and the council adjourned I for a week to allow the union to consider them. I A COMMUNIST LEADER. | A Press correspondent of an exchange I writes: "I.was present the other after- | noon when Jock Garden, the Communist leader, and secretary of the Sydney Labour Council's Disputes Committee, | the body controlling the timber strike, | received the newspaper correspondents. Ej One often lias less difficulty in invading 5 the sanctum of a Cabinet Minister, but | the ex-parson leader of the militants is \ nothing if not courteous, is always i ready with a cheery response, and posI scsses in a marked degree the political | faculty of parrying a question. Mr. i Garden, however, follows a principle in- | variably adopted by men in responsible positions when dealing with the Press. | There are many points upon which he | cannot take the correspondents officially | into his confidence —yet he will franklj' | chat and lucidly explain, when the K members of the Fourth Estate assure | him that his remarks will not be pub- | lislied. An extremely likeable fellow, | whatever his politics may be, and a bom _ leader of men. A man, too, with an extraordinary driving force. It seems a m pity that his undoubted ability is not diverted into other channels, instead of sowing discord and disloyalty, extolling the Soviet, and failing to recognise the virtues of the flag that gives him the liberty for his course of action."

CAREFUL TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES.

' Failure of industry to provide for its workers as carefully as it docs for its stockholders constitutes one of the flaws most in need of remedying iu the present industrial system, Professor Robert M. Lovett, of Chicago, one of tho editors of the "New Republic," declared before the Twentieth Centuiy Club in Boston. Drawing his observations from New Bedford, with its recent textile strike, as a "type of New England industrialism," Professor Lovett said there are n.ot merely two factors —labour and capital —in industry, but instead five, "the workers, the shareholders, the management, the community and the Government." These he termed "pernian. ..t

and persistent elements in our industrial system." "The worker," he continued, "docs not get the result of his increased productivity, and, worse than that, he is at the mercy of a system over which he has no control. The shareholder's position seems to be quite contemptible; he takes what is given to him, has a somewhat preferred position in case of liquidation, and like women and children on a sinking ship, he goes first." Kay Bowden, statistician of the New England Council, said he believes the Nov England manufacturer who is looked upon by his western customers as a back number "is suffering because of the back numbers in the textile industry." He added that the textile industry is not more important than other industries in New England and that the metal industry is more responsible for the tendency to increase wage standards. ABSORPTION OF UNEMPLOYED. To maintain a five-day week for employees and at the same time operate factories six days a week, an additional 30,000 men- will be employed by the Ford Motor Company, and production increased 20 per cent before March 1, officials of the company announced recently. Only the factory in Detroit will lie placed on the six-day basis at this time, but it was indicated assembly plants in other cities would be transferred to the same system as production increased. Employment of the additional men required will bring the Detroit employment roll of the Ford Company to 150,000 men. Preference will be given unemployed now in Detroit, the announcement said, and warnings were given that men coming here from other cities would find little opportunity for employment. The plans call for assignment of six men to five jobs, in order that each man may have two days rest a week. "A six-day week is all right for machines." said Henry Ford, in explainin',' the plan, "but a five-day week is enough for men." It is estimated that under the plan production can be increased 6500 cars a, week and costs lowered through re- j duction of idle machine time.