LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 31, 6 February 1937, Page 12

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES. UNION MEETINGS FOR THE ■WEEK.

(By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.)

UNION' MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. Monday. February S.—Painters. Furniture Tr.HlYs Exrrntivc. Tuesday. February n.—Slorcmcn. Fell-Wi-iImC-clnv, ivl.ruary io.—Auckland Carpraters." I'lastcrcre. Local Boillcs , labourers. Thursday, February 11. —Trades and Labour Council. INCREASE OF UNION MEMBERS. Last year, when, as a result of tlie industrial legislation of the new Government, compulsory unionism caused a

tremendous stir among the wageearners of the Dominion, leading them to make a move to consider what union they were to join, instead of as formcrlv what union to avoid, it was confidently predicted that the next annual returns of union, membership wolild easily beat' all previous records. Whoro no unions in a trade existed, or where- unions had been allowed to lapse or become moribund, similar haste was made to bring new unions into being, with the result that —as a recent visitor from Britain on his return to his native land, with all its more conservative ideals declared—"Xow Zealand is the land of trades unions." January- in each year is the statutory mouth for sending in returns of union membership to the registrar as on December 31, and a list of a few of the Auckland unions compiled at random and published in our columns on Monday last shows this "landslide to unionism" in a very marked degree. Fifteen unions are given, but as one of these was not in being in December, 1335, I mention for comparative purposes the other 14 'noted. In December, 1035, these show an aggregate of 5417 members and in the official "returns 12 months later .1 membership of 20,057 is recorded, or an increase of 14,070 for the 14 unions. But other unions, many of them large ones, have sprung into being in the interval, and all told there cannot be less than 50 to CO unions in Auckland alone, one of which, the clerical workers, a new union, returns 1500 members. But this is only in tho Auckland district, and in all other parts of the Dominion the same relative increases have been recorded. The employers of the Dominion, who as a bodv have always believed in the doctrine of "moral suasion" ami have advocated it publicly in the matter of union membership, have not been iinoteerritht in noting' these numerical increases, and are evidently getting a little bit tired of the faithful few working for the benefit of non-members. One employers' union at least lias declared in favour of asking tho Government to declare in favour of compulsory unionism for employers also. As I have often said, "Imitation is the ' sincerest form of flattery" and "A wise man changes his opinion, but a fool never.-

DRIFTING TO THE TOWNS. Many caustic remarks have been made lately on the tendency of the population of the Dominion to gravitate from the country to the cities and larger centres of both islands. Farmers smarting under the difficulties of obtaining and retaining a sufficiency of labour for their fanning operations, have not hesitated to place the responsibility on the shoulders of the Labour Government in causing the raisin" of wages and shortening of hours for urban workers. These same urban workers have also been debited with a deterioration of their moral and mental fibres, by showing a strong liking for the city life and its sports and pictures, instead of having the backbone to enjoy a farming occupation with its long "hours of labour, its primitive accommodation, its seasonal occupation and far from princely remuneration. But this flow from country to town did not bcin with the advent of the Labour Government to power. It was well under way during the reign of the Coalition Government and has continued to be a steady drift. And this steady trek from country to town has no't been restricted to what lias been termed "the hired - servants -, 'alone, but ' includes a large, proportion of. sons of the farmers themselves. lam inclined to think that there must have been a great defect in the .early training of these farmers' sons that would lead the lads to forsake the open country, with its wealth of scenery and abundance of ozone, its lure of "the ffrass growing while man is sleeping," for the doubtful attraction of a city life with its confined atmosphere, crowded and unhygienic surroundings, to say nothing of its night life that cannot be altogether beneficial to our sturdy youth from the baekblocks.

Last week the Auckland City Council called for applications for three traffic officers for its traffic department, and over 2SO applications, resulted, from a wide area extending from Kaitaia in the north to Woodvillo in the south. A very large number were from farmers and farmers' sons as well as from farm labourers. This largo number of applications, which included references as to ability and character, was referred to a sub-committee to reduce to HO for a final 'selection by the whole committee, and the work has occupied ten hours on two successive days this week to read through and consider each application with its letters of recommendation. I am afraid that the agricultural labourers were not welcomed by the committee, as it would be unwise and unfair to rob the farmer of his already short supply of necessary labour, and a successful selection meant coming before the- committee for a personal inspection for the final selection of three. There was an application from one who eet down his occupation as a "sheopherder" and considered that his past experience eminently fitted him for regulating and controlling the traffic of a city like Auckland. However. I would not like to have the responsibility on my shoulders of despoiling the farmer of his 'necessary labour.