LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 147, 24 June 1933, Page 16

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES. (Bv INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Mondjy, .Tunc 20.—Bricklayers. \\>i] rii'sdiiy, Juno 28. —Furniture Trades .Special. Thursday, June 29.—Enginedrirers. UNION GUARDIANSHIP. Since the onslaught by the Coalition Government upon the Arbitration Court, in which the principle of compulsory arbitration was deleted from the Act, many union members have become fainthearted in union principles and inclined'to let their membership lapse. The statement has often been made that trade unions are of no use and awards are a dead letter. That such a statement is a pure assumption and not correct is proved by a recent experience of the Auckland Carpenters' Union. Some time ago it was reported to tile union that a contractor in a northern township who had executed some cottage building contracts for the Public Works Department had not paid award rates of wages to the men employed on those contracts. Inquiries were made into the matter by the union and by the Labour Department, and the union was advised by the Labour Department: "That it was! a condition of the contract that award wages should be paid, and as this had not been done, the Public Works Department had refused to make a final settlement with the contractor until the conditions of the award had been complied with." The union has since been informed by the Labour Department that arrears of wages amounting to £220 IS/2 have now been paid, and the addresses of several men' who had worked on the contracts are required so that they can be paid the back wages duo to "them. The amount was, of course, spread over a considerable number of inen. One received £13 14/9, The point is, that had there "been no union, there would have been no award, in which case the employer would lu.ve made his own terms with tjie men. But there was a union, a real live union, and that union had obtained au award, and when a breach of that award was reported, steps were taken' to have the provisions of the award observed, with the above results. Apart from the benefits to the men, there is also the consideration that an award operating in the industry ensures that contractors all tender on the same basis of labour costs, and if some contractors get their labour at a lower cost they are competing on an unfair basis with other contractors. The moral of the story is that both workers and employers should support the unions, each for their own protection.

LABOUR IN THE COUNCIL. The presence of seven new Labour councillors in the Auckland. City Council very nearly caused a, reversal of the policy hitherto pursued by the council in following the lead given by the Employers' Association in industrial matters in regard to its own employees, when tli© report on the abattoirs was being considered on Thursday evening. The manager had recommended: "That the matter be not referred to the Arbitration Court, but that a further conference be suggested, with a view to a settlement." Mr. Bloodworth objected to any refusal by the council to go to the Court, and asked why the council as a public body should follow the lead of the employers' associations, which had been placed in the saddle by the present condition of the law. He moved an amendment that a further conference be sought, and failing a settlement, the council's representatives should vote in favour of referring the dispute to the Court. This was seconded by Mr. Rosser and supported by Messrs. -Andrews and Phelan. It was advanced by the speakers that if the council was convinced of the justness of its claims it should have no' hesitation whatever in trusting to the decision of the president of the Arbitration Court. When the question was put T -0 the vote there were present 18 councillors and tiie Mayor, three councillors being absent through illness. The amendment was lost by 10 votes to 9. It was a narrow escape*; two more Labour councillors, if they had been returned on May 3, would have given a Labour majority in a full council. ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. At the Economic Conference in London, at which New Zealand is represented by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, there are delegations from 66 countries, representing nearly 2,000,000,000 people. All the big hotels of London have been commandeered to accommodate the various delegations, which it is estimated number more than 4000, when all the secretaries, experts, typists and messenger boys are included. It will thus be seen that such a function means a big employment of labour, and London at any rate will benefit by such an influx. The conference is organised by the League of Nations, but is being held in London on the proposition of the British Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MaeDonald, so that in the event of any of the delegations not paying their bills, the charge for the same will fall on the British Budget. As more than half of "" the nations have not paid their subscriptions to the League of Nations, the prospects are not too bright. What benefits we as a Dominion will reap from the decisions is in the realm of conjecture, but in the meantime Mr. Coates, as acting-Prime Minister, has published his Budget, in which a small surplus is shown.