LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, 2 September 1933, Page 18

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES. (By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) UNIOX MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Tuesday, September s—Seamen's Monthly Stop-work. Caretakers and Cleaners. Wednesday, September G —Labour Party Women's Branch. Friday, September S—Curriers. WAGES AND THE TARIFF. There would appear to be some- increase of activities in the union ranks, judged by impending disputes being arranged." The Dominion Brick and Tile Workers' Federation have applied for a Dominion award for the industry, and September 27 has been fixed for the hearing at Christchurch in conciliation council. Efforts in Auckland and Christchurch during the past few months have entirely failed to achieve anywhere near the terms of the last award, the employers declining to pay more than 1/6 per hour for the unskilled workers and 1/8 for skilled. Even at these rates some, of the skilled men were expected to put in as much as 84 hours per week. It is interesting to note that some of the employers in this industry have already given evidence before the Tariff Com mission in support of protection for their products. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher, a former Cabinet Minister in the Dominion, in a speech replying to a charge of inconsistency levelled against him, declared, "Consistency is the refuge of fools." It is evident there are still some members of the cult in the Dominion. The biscuit and confectionery dispute, involving some 2500 workers in the Dominion, is to be commenced before the Conciliation Commissioner at Auckland on September 21. The application has been filed by the workers' federation after several attempts at mutual settlement, in which the employers were not very responsive, their proposals involving a reduction in wages of 43 per cent. This industry has also bulked largely before the Tariff Commission by its request for an increased duty on imported confectionery and biscuits.

The secretary of the Fibrous Plasterers' Union has received proposals from the employers involving drastic reductions ii» wages and overtime rates, the most marked being the offer for boys under 17 ye >.rs of age to work for 10/ per week. If the boys were apprentices, learning a skilled trade that would be retained through life, nothing could be said against the proposition, but it is what has been termed a "blind alley" occupation. I noticed that the Tariff Commission recently at Auckland heard evidence from manufacturers who come under the jurisdiction of the fibrous plasterers' award, asking for adequate protection for the industry against imported articles from overseas. The double barrelled gun is largely in evidence just now, one charge to kill importations (or maim them), and the other to bring down the local conditions.

THE LOAN POLL. General satisfaction is expressed amongst the local workers and business men at the approval of the loan poll for necessary city works. This will mean an increased circulation of wages for very necessary work for the next two years at any rate. It ie true the figures recorded are small: For the proposal 2111, against 1772, majority 339; but if the silent ones had been opposed to the poll they would' have taken the trouble to vote. At present the Auckland City Council has the large number of 1951 unemployed working on the various schemes, and the carrying of the poll will mean that 250 skilled or expert men will be required on some of the new jobs. The preparation of the materials for new pipes and other necessaries for the work will indirectly give work for an addi tional 250. All these are to work at award rates of pay. The council felt it necessary to make a sufficient safeguard against the work being rushed by workers from other towns and districts, and so all workers taken on under the new schemee must have been on the council's list of Unemployed workers prior to January, 1933. Thus the work cannot be rushed from outside, to the exclusion , of our own people. Furthermore, the new band of men will have to be expert at their respective trades, and other things being equal, city ratepayers will have preference of employment on the city schemes. If every local body endeavoured to provide for its own unemployed on the same lines as the Auckland City Council, it would help matters considerably. Regarded purely from the ratepayer's standpoint, the project is a profitable one, for the loan of £116,000, being mostly for labour, will be assisted by a subsidy of upwards of £18,000 from the Unemployment Board. In two or three years this subsidy may not be available. This direct pecuniary benefit of cheaper work is obtained without any increase to the rates, for the interest account can be met out of revenue, until the exchange comes off, as it must do shortly. At present the city is paying as much as £48,000 in exchange, equal to a rate of 2£d in the £. The workers under the schemes mentioned in the loan proposals "will have an increased wage, brought about by an extra day's work to each man, at the award rate per day. A man with a family who now works four days a week will work five.

SHORTER WORKING "WEEK. Leading industrialists in other countries who support the movement for a shorter working week appear to be increasing in numbers. Mr. P. Malcolm Stewart, one of the managing directors of the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers, made the following statements on "the new spirit which more and more is actuating modern industry." Writing in "Headway," the journal of the League of Nations Union, published in June of this year, he states: "For myeelf, I would support a 42 against a 44-hour week, more especially because, with a 42-hour week, continuous processes involving shift work could be catered for by four shifts of 42 hours instead of three shifts of 56 hours, and would require an addition of onethird more workers." He then asks the question: "How are we to set to work? In the first place, let the industrialists approach the trade unions and say to them, 'Will you co-operate with us in an effort to reduce the number of unemployed? Our proposal is to put more men into employment by shortening the hours of work. We want to negotiate with you as to how the cost incurred should be apportioned, and propose that to mitigate any sacrifice which the worker would bear in shouldering a share of the burden of reducing unemployment we should secure for him a share in the profits of industry and annually a week's holiday with pay.' With regard to wages, my creed is that fair wages must come before interest on capital, and that when there are profits the workers should have a fair share in them."