TEACHING TRADES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 245, 16 October 1929, Page 8

TEACHING TRADES.

TRAINING OF APPRENTICES.

CONFERENCE HELD,

VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS.

Various recommendations were made in regard to apprenticeship matters at a conference held on Monday under the auspices of the Auckland Trades and Labour Council, when 28 trades were represented by delegates.

It was decided to forward the following recommendation to the unions concerned for adoption:—"That workers' representatives shall agree to the technical training of apprentices only on condition that ultimately such training shall be in the daytime and during working hours, and that employers shall pay the school fees with the right to deduct such fees from the wages of an apprentice if he does not make the necessary attendances at school; that a united effort should be made to prevent any deduction from the wages of an apprentice except for time lost through his own default; that the proportion of apprentices to journeymen in all trades shall not exceed one apprentice to each three journeymen employed."

It was decided that the following should be placed before the Minister of Labour for amendments to the Apprentices Act: —"That when an employer or firm for any reason terminates business, and any apprentices are discharged through such reason and the discharged apprentices are unable to transfer to another employer, then in such cases no further apprentices shall be employed in the industry in the locality concerned until sucli apprentices have been reinstated with other employers; that where firms take on apprentices and go into voluntary liquidation, steps shall be taken by the liquidator for the finding of other employers, and also wages paid until such time as the apprentices have found employment; the Act to be amended to make mandatory the examination of all apprentices under the jurisdiction of apprenticeship committees at least once each year, and that the expenses of the committee in examining the apprentices be paid by the Government; that section 9 of the Apprentices Act be amended so that the trade union having an interest in apprentices shall be permitted to take action for a breach of the Apprentices Act or apprenticeship order."

With a view to securing uniformity of action, it was decided by the conference that the Trades and Labour Counci. should • set up an advisory committee for the purpose of giving advice to workers' representatives upon committees, and also obtain from the Labour Information Bureau, London, all information upon apprenticeship matters in different parts of the world.