LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 20

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES.

By INDUSTRIAL TRAMP

UNION MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK.

Mondav, September 19,-Furniture Trades. Cutters „ an ?J?£® se .T,t—Rubber Workers. Tuesday. September-. —plasterers, Wednesday, beptenwer Onehunga Carpenters.

MR. CROSKERY'S RETIREMENT. When the No. 2 Arbitration Court was set up at the end of last year the Government definitely announced that the additional tribunal was brought into being with the object of assisting the existing Court to overtake the huge list of cases that had piled up and awaited consideration. The new Court was to be a temporary one and after the work bad been overtaken of cases filed by the large number of new unions registered under the compulsory unionism legislation of the Labour Government, the number of industrial applications would go back to normal and be distributed over the whole year, so that the permanent Court would be able to deal with them. The dual Court system was therefore expected to last for about 12 months. The period of 12 months has not yet elapsed for the temporary Court, and yet there have been two resignations from the personnel of the elected members, Mr. Anderson (employers) and Mr. C'roskery (workers), and much interest by the general public has been occasioned and speculations indulged in all over the Dominion as to whether the real reasons for these resignations have been

given. My colleague, "Trades Lnionwt." in his labour column in the Dunedin "Evening Star," of last week, write*:

At this distance from Wellington it is difficult to find out the real reason for Mr. Croskery's retirement as the workers' representative on the No. 2 Arbitration Court.

This is the second resignation since the second Court was constituted, about this time last year. Mr. Anderson, of Auckland, the original employers' representative, who was appointed soon after ho returned from Geneva, where he attended the International Labour Conference, resigned after about six months' service, for what reason we were not informed. Now Mr. Croskery, the workers' representative, has resigned. We are told that his union, the Wellington shop assistants, required his services, and as a result he has decided to resign and go back to his old position.

The writer is of opinion that there is more b?hind Mr. Croskery'e resignation than meets the eye. If we look at the original Court of Arbitration, we find that the present two representatives— Messrs. Prime (employers) and Monteith (workers) —have retained their respective positions for about 15 years, and still there are no rumours of intended resignation from either.

We do not know this, that a few important Dominion disputes have bee* heard by the Xo. 2 Court several monQg ago, and still no awards have been made. A lot of criticism has been levelled at this Court for its unprecedented delays in making award*?, and -when they have been made they have beea to the satisfaction neither of employe nor of workers.

Frequently some extraneous provisions have crept into tho awards when made which have ne\er been argued by either side, or existed in the previou* award. Whether this h.ic- something to do with the resignation? of the two original members appointed T am not in a positioji to state, but one hears a lot of whispering going on amongst the officials of the trade unions, r-uggesting that everything is not a.- it. should be regarding the working of this Court.

The Minister of Labour miwt know if there is anything wrdn.:'. and we all look to him (if a fiiww.-r to .Mr. Croskery is to Ijc appointed) to ,<ee that tl» Xo. 2 Court functions properly and that awards are given within reasonable tiint limits. A SATURDAY POLL. '

While the*e notes are beiiicr written, the Prime Minister has made the announcement that the election will 1* held on Saturday, October 1">. a short four weekri from to-day. fhis is a new departure from I lie well-established custom of holding the New Zealand Parliamentary elections on a day other than Saturday. 1 have not access to ■tlie records, but I cannot remember a general election being ever held on « Saturday in New Zealand. Australian elections are always held on that day. In the past the objection to Saturday as a polling day has been becauso it was market day and the busiest day in the week. It was alno urged that Saturday was recognised a* the Sa'bbath Day by many of our fellow citizens. But the 40-hour or five-day week ha* now become almost universal in the Dominion and the country townships have rapidly been reverting from Wednesday to Saturday for their statutory half-holidays, and therefore it -would be less dislocation of business for a Saturday polling day to l>c adopted. It is goinpr to be a thirsty week-end for some people. The prohibition vote hto , be taken, hotels will cloec. and so far as I know no provision is made for "Manna that falls down from Heaven* ' in the case of the ancient Israelites in the wilderness. However, the alteration of the day will meet with general approbation.