TRADES AND LABOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 85, 11 April 1931, Page 19

TRADES AND LABOUR.

AUCKLAND UNION ACTIVITIES. I (By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK 'Executive. ai, i— Council. * >?■ THE UNEMPLOYMENT ; SCHEMES. Owing to the strain on tie o| the Unemployment Board, the *o. i ' scheme has been suspended for a tort night from to-day to allow of a xe- . V : classification of the unemployed wnc ;, l register. It has been found that ill '•*; some districts men who were not genuine "wage earners but had small holdings oJ their own had left work on their . and obtained employment under the con . ditions of Scheme 5. The Minister contends that it was never intended thai farmers, etc., should be. able to work . for wages under this scheme. Thgr could , a\ fengage labour under it and obtom reliei ■ - by getting work done -on ■ their farms at a cheaper rate than usual. So all . regulations have been suspended for a fortnight to allow of new rules being i ' drawn up for a' new classification. Then also, under the old regulations, men whe • had been unable or unwilling to. pay their quarterly lavy were able undei ' certain conditions to obtain employment, ■ The major changes under the new regulations will be: (1) The adoption oi the principle "No levy—no relief"; (21 relief on the rationed basis of two, thret i -'* ; four days a, week is now to bt ■ granted for three weeks only out -oi . each successive four weeks," that is, foi one week out of four no relief is " - granted; (3) married men and widower* : with two dependent children are now entitled to only three days' work a " v t r week instead of four days as previously Many of' the "local bodies in and afound Auckland have utilised the pro- • Visions of Scheme sto carry, out necesv sary and useful works in their districts at a much reduced rate, and in 6om€ - ' Cases skilled work has been parried out at less than ordinary labourers' wages The Minister (Hon; S. G. Smith),, whe . is also chairman of the Unemployment . Board, has made an appeal to all local < bodies to carry on the burden hithertc 1 / sustained by the board for the twe , Weeks in which Scheme 5 has been sue- ',' pended, and it is hoped this advice will a 'be largely followed. The Mayor oi Birkenhead has stated that his council 'v- - i which has been employing 120 men undei this scheme, has decided to carry on under existing regulations, their wages being paid from loan money unexpended The men will be paid 14/ per day. ' '?•••} ' :? f' ' . . ■ \ ■ «' MUNICIPAL MATTERS. Early next month the"general elections for harbour boards, borougl ,' - councils, hospital boards, and Transport Board will tak% place, and the municipal rolls,' under which the - fv three first-named elections will be run - '--closed on Wednesday last. The Auckland City Council main, toll already had over 46,000 names on it, and the supplementary which has just closed will hav< a further 2000 to add to the total. Ever then it is surprising the amount oJ V > a pathy that exists amongst people whe S . are too lazy to sign the applicatior . form for a vote which has been left ai -v-their homes for signature, to' be callec -for the following day. Women are th<

greater offenders in this respect, and yet, lees than 20 years ago, noble women in the Old Country, the Pankhursts, mother and daughters, for leaders, were chaining themselves to the railings of the House of Commons and losing their lives cheerfully to influence public opinion in favour of granting women equal rights with their husbands, brothers, and sons. When the polling fever sets in on May 6, there will be • a lot of complaining and grumbling from people who are eligible to vote but were too. tired to see that they were <on the roll. <

One of the' Mayoral candidates (Mr. G. W. Hutchison) has -made his debut to the electors,. and has stated his belief that: "It is not only within the powers of the council, but it is its duty a b all times to effect economies wherever possible." This is also the of the Labour party, which is running a candidate for the Mayoralty (Mr. H. G. R. Mason, M.8.), so that whichever candidate wins, the Auckland City Council can look forward to a period of economy and retrenchment in its next term. - And there is' room for it, too, by all accounts. 1 As soon as the war was over and the cost of living began to increase, the City Council rightly considered that' the pay, of its servants ought also to be increased, and the system of "annual increments" was followed, until at the present time' there are no less than, 19 officers drawing as pay v an aggregate amount of over £14,000 per annum, or an average of, £736 each. . Now that Parliament has decided to redijce wages generally the City Council ,should adopt the pruning process also in regard to its higher paid officials. It did so over 12 months ago with its rank and file wages men, but it stopped at the salaries.

!■ BAtDWIN ON , TRADES UNIONS. Mr." Stanley Baldwin, the British Conservative leader, speaking as an employer to the Engineering and Allied Employers' Association recently, said: "They could not get' along by fighting the trades unions, 1 but they could get along by bringing the unions with them. The unions had come to stay. It might have been a fairer world if there had been no trade unions and no associations of employers, and, indeed, had the employers of past generations dealt fairly with' their men, there would have | no unions."

A CAUTIOUS CHANCELLOR.V, "Schemes involving heavy expenditure, however desirable, will have to wait until prosperity returns. This is necessary—and I say this more particularly to my friends behind me—to uphold the present standard of life, and no class will ultimately benefit more by present economy than the wage earners. "I have been in active political life for over 40 years, and my only object has. been to improve the let of the toiling masses. That is still my aim and object, and if I ask for some temporary suspension it is because I believe that it is necessary in order to make futui*B prosperity possible.'V-Mr. Philip Showden, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Labour Government.