LABOUR NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 280, 26 November 1938, Page 20

LABOUR NOTES.

UNION ACTIVITIES. (Bv INDUSTRIAL TRAMP.) I UNION MEET IV"" FOR THE WEEK. Monday, November 'JH.—Storemen and Packers. Wednesday. November 30.—Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Onehunga Carpenters. Thursday. December I.—Brush, Broom and Mop Workers (committee). FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY IMPROVES. Twelve months ago one felt depressed at liearing report* of slackness of -work in tile boot factories of the Dominion. Factories had been unable to cope with orders, and this caused large importations. When the demand had been satisfied, store and factory shelves were loaded with stock, and in the meantime factory operatives were i<ll« or working half-time. These depressing conditions have now entirely disap{>eared, and report* receivc 1 by the Minister of Industries «nd Commerce show tlttt all factories are working at either full or nearly full capacity. In his report, the Minister says: "Various factories re|>ort that the heavy stocks which they were carrying last year have now fallen to normal levels, and in some cases to below those levels. All factories appear to be workiii" at or near to the maximum of their capacitv to meet the current demand. and the volume of production ha« only been limited by the availability of suitable labour."

He also states: "Thorp appears to have been some shortage of skilled labour. and. indeed it was stated it had been iiimit difficult to obtain the services of clickers and machinist*. The improvement which has taken place in the industry may l>e judged from the fact that one factory showed an increase in its sales of 2."> per cent as compared with I!W7. Altogether."' says the report, '"the prospect* for the industry are very bright, and manufacturers almost unanimously exprtfcs optimism concerning the future of their industry." During the years of depression the writer observed the pathetic sign that there were hundreds of workers wearing rubber shoes, women a.» well as men. In our sub-tropical climate that sign is not so much to be wondered at during the warm weather, as it makes for lightness and coolness, and it is an extension of the holiday habit, but when it prevailed right through the winter season it demonstrated that the wearer we.s "making do" with his or her slender resources. Those struggles are now sad memories only, and one can note that our people are able to go about shod as the season demands, and hence the increased activities in our hoot factories.

BRITISH SUBJECTS. To listen to some of our speakers, one would get the idea that it was no great privilege to be a British subject because of the burdens wc have to bear, but foreign-born people appear to hold a slightly different opinion. The unsettled conditions in Europe are causing a rush by foreigners with the necessary qualifications to take out naturalisation papers in New Zealand and thus secure the protection of the British flag. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. K. Parry, in an interview, states that he has dealt with a particularly large number of applications for naturalisation certificates in the past year. Some of the applicants, he says, were persons who had lived in New Zealand as aliens for periods up to .">0 years and had never before made application for naturalisation certificates. Others bad applied previously and had not completed their applications, and it seemed that with the turn of affairs in Europe there was now a greater desire 011 the part of aliens resident in Xew Zealand t<> avail themselves of the privileges of full citizenship. In the period from April to Xoveml>er 19 this year a total of 280 certificates of naturalisation had been granted by the Minister. With only seven and a half months of the present financial year gone, the indications are that the number of naturalisation certificates that will be granted for the full year will reach record proportions. Since 1921 the highest number granted in one year was in 1923, 333. while the lowest was 53 for 1930. It is interesting to note that the highest number of applications for naturalisation certificates granted is always during a year in which a general election is held, showing that the privilege "of using the franchise is valued by our alien citizens. i MORE TAXES FOR THE WORKER. T'nder this heading the "Australian Worker" contends that the increased taxation outlined in the Australian Budget will fall principally on the working masses. In his Budget speech the Federal Treasurer announced that- £3,120.0<K) additional revenue would have to he secured during the current financial year. This additional taxation is to come from: Income tax. £1.400.000; sales tax. £1.300.000; land tax, £13.">,000; and tobacco excise £37~>.000. At least half of the increased income tax —that paid by companies and business enterprises — will (says the "Worker") be passed down oil to the working masses in the form of higher prices for commodities, services, etc. It is estimated that the working masses will pay at least 80 per cent of the extra sales tax. Of the increased land -tax to be collected fr>m city and country landlords and property owners it is fairly safe to say that a big" quota will he paid by the working masses per medium of higher rents. As t > the increased tobacco excise, most of this tax will also come from the working masses. *. From this it would seem that of (lie additional taxation to he levied by the Lyons <Jovernment. at least two-thirds of the amount will have to be paid directly and indirectly by the workers. The "Worker" estimates that taxation imposts, including the coining bread tax. will amount to between 5/ and 7/6 per week.

SCISSORS AND NEEDLE SLAVES. In applying to the Xew South Wales Conciliation Commissioner lor permission to enter premises covered by the jurisdiction of the Cutters and Trimmers' (Cumberland and Newcastle) Conciliation Committee, the secretarv of the Federated Clothing and Allied Trades Union made some startling statements. reports a Labour exchange. The sweating of girls in Xcw^ South Wales, he asserted, is more defiantly rampant to-day than ever before and he unequivocally blamed the foreign element among employers for thia deplorable state of affairs. "The foreigner." Mr. Fallon went on to say, "has destroyed the fair employer In the old days I could walk from Svduey to Broken Hill and get a job as a tailor in almost every town. But I could not do that now. because a lot of work in the clothing trade is now done by sweated girl labour in Svdnev." This sweating of girl labour* is a scandal and menace, and its seriousness is increased by the f H .t that some of the big warehouses purchase the products in large quantities, and make enormous profits on the deals. Mr. Fallon points out that if all the girls so employed were members of the union such sweating would be abolished, because awards could then be effectively policed, and the avaricious, unprincipled employers brought to account. But, unfortunately, until unionism is made compulsory the exploiters of sweated girl labour will continue to thrive, and t>e enabled to undersell those employers who pay union wages and provide decent working conditions. We flatter ourselves that Hood's "Song of the Shirt." and the poor pav and long slavery hours that prompted it. belong to the long-gone past in a faroff clime. But it's false Mattery, and if Tom Hood were here to-day he would realise that the evil he denounced has been planted in the new world and flourishes as well as it does in the old. - I