TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 14, 17 January 1931, Page 19

TRADE AND LABOUR NOTES.

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.)

UNION MEETINGS TOR THE WEEK. Monday, January 19 —Hairdressers, Furniniture Trades, Freezing Works' Employees. Wednesday, January 21.—Plasterers. Saturday, January 24. — Amalgamated Society Railway Servants.

AUCKLAND'S UNEMPLOYED. Although the cry of Auckland's unemployed has been heard in the city for many months past, this -week it has reached its greatest intensity,.and processions through the streets to the Town Hall, and to the Trades Hall, are a daily occurrence. On Thursday, after a big procession to the Town Hall, from which a deputation interviewed the Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, who convinced them of the utter impotence of the City Council to do more than it has done, owing to want of funds, the big crowd made its way to the Trades Hall, which they entered willy nilly. The result of the deputation to the Mayor was laid before the meeting of over 600 members, who had crammed into the big hall. After being addressed by several speakers, including Mr. W. E. Parry, M.P. for Auckland Central, it was resolved to call npon the Cabinet to summon a special meeting of Parliament to provide work for the unemployed, and to make sustenance allowances immediately to those in serious straits. Under the Unemployment Act of last session, relief can only be furnished to those who have carried out tlio work (riven to them, and. as there are not enough jobs to go round many of the men are on the point of starvation. The session' of Parliament is sought to enable the authorities to pay out sustenance money for immediate needs. The personnel of the men in the piocession compare more than favouiably with previous displays in our city, and it is safe to assert that more than UU per cent of them want work, and not charity. Of course, one or two extremists wore in evidence at the mass meetin" in the hall, and advocated extreme resolutions, but' to the credit of the meeting a deaf ear was turned to them. No fault can reasonably be found with the unemployed for holding these demonstrations, for their position is desperate, and, so long as they are carried out in an orderly and law-abiding manner, it is the only way to obtain immediate recognition. All this trouble was pointed out to Mr. Coates, the then Prime Minister, five years ago, by Labour deputations that repeatedly interviewed him in Auckland, on the guarantee, given by the Reform Government to absorb 10,000 immigrants from Britain per year by free and assisted immigration. "As a man sows, so shall he also reap," and we are but suffering the aftermath of the Reform immigiation policy. /

an incongruity. Two paragraphs, appearing in the "Star" this week, were interesting wlien read apart, but rather incongruous when read together. The first was an announcement that a consignment ol over 30 bovs were on their way, or, about to leave for the Dominion, under the Flock House scheme, to be taught how to become worthy citizens of Isew Zealand with the financial assistance of the New Zealand Government as far as Wssages are concerned. The other paragraph was explaining a pictmc taken of over 300 hoys assembled outside a local picture-theatre m reply to an advertisement for 50 hoys to distnbuto literature. i e qooo It is asserted that upwards of -000 lads leave school at the Cluistmas -tenn in Auckland, having, finished their education, and being anxious t^sei cure a nosition to earn their own lmn 0 . An skilled trades cannot absorb ofour own boys, and boy labour is a dru" on the labour market ; and yet, we nre°still ffivink facilities for the lntroaie sti g, ■ e g {rom Great Britain. attempt to justify to«. n P°£ should do w apprenticeship, rehad finished ,;thei PP , o +her counted: "Send them tries as finished r th a ri that, a better economic soiuxiou

lower wages eor single meh Z + i, D "Basic Wage Inquiry was When, the asl ° q n le opening resumed recen y * fl for a statement day -was notabl<e . c f liis opinion !by Chief Judge D -naid a lower ihat single „' ia rri«l men. ST ""report a, """I? the married man and his family are to have a reasonable comfort," Chief Judge Dethridge said, some svstem of differential payments mue 2 Wrote*. Tie country. ojnnot afford to pay a flat rate sufficient for a man and hi, *if. and three cMton to the single man and the childless couple. All the evidence suggests that to give -the man, wife, and three, children anything like the Pidding standard of reasonable comfort. te single man and the childless couple must take a good deal less. In this Court we must adopt a compromise, a sum which is not sufficient to maintain a man and his wife and three children in reasonable comfort. . In my opinion it has never been enough to give the family the reasonable comfort which Justice Piddington . found. The job which faces the Parliaments and the courts is to get the single man to take less. We have the spectacle of the family man struggling with adversity and the single man laughing in his sleeve." , Judge Drake-Brockman: Until he is married. Chief Judge Dethridge: Yes,-until he is married. Then his time comes, and serve him right!

FIVE-DAY WEEK PROGRESS.

The tendency in the United States appears to be definitely towards a fiveday working week of 40 hours. In March of last year the "American Federationist" published the announcement of the first national agreement for the five-day week, with no reduction in weekly wages. The latest group to seek the five-day week is the railway shop crafts affiliated with the American Federation of Labour. The "Federation News" for August 30 reports that the machinists and other shop crafts will soon announce that "early next year they -will make formal demand for the five-day week on one railroad system, and after taking the issue to arbitration will expect, to apply it on all railroads in the United States." The demand will include no reduction in total wages.