CONCILIATION BOARD.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11012, 9 July 1901, Page 2

CONCILIATION BOARD.

~-.. THE.WOQLW DISPTDTE. Tbo Conciliation' Board met yesterday, to hear further evidence in the , woollen dispute relating to the hosiery department. Messrs John Capill, H. C. Revell, and (i. McGregor represented th«i Union; and Messrs G. Blackwell, J. Leithead, J. Dryden, and J. Lillico the employers, J. Leitbead, re-calkd, said thai he had some of the Union witnesses in his office, and had allowed them to examine some of the books themselves. Hβ bad not questioned them concerning their evidence. Mr Capill said that Mr Leithead had questioned one of the Uiaion's witnesses after she had given her evidence concerning the accuracy ol statements made before the Board.

Mr A. H. Turnbull said it did not matter very much as long as no undue pressure was brought to bear on any of the witnesses.

Emily Fowler, employed at the Kaiapoi Factory, as a skein winder, said that her average wage was now about 24s »er week. About a rear ago her wages had 1»e«i reduced. There were 6s owing to her when the reduction took place, and this had never been paid. John Robertson stated that he was getting £2 a week at the Kaiapoi Factory, working in the hosiery department,. The work was very heavy for a girl, and the present number of hours was excessive. Eva Lamb, employed at Kaiapoi on the knitting, said that the worir was too heavy for the girls, and many of tihem had been laid up on account of it. Olivia Kooke, employed in ■ the. mounting department, stated that she earned 27s per week. Tb» quickest c£ the girls under her named 26s 9d? per week, and there was *n understanding that they should not exceed 27s per week. She was responsible for all the work that left her department. ™*> treadr.e work was Tery hard, and could not be done constantly. . r . . Sarah Jane Rudfcin, hosiery manufacturer, Sydenlbam. stated that vfoen. first starting a. girl she gave her4e ft week, and subseqiwot increasea depended upon the oapacity of the girls themselves. When a girl was capable of earning more she was paid more. " ■ Rose Hyde, employed as a winder at Mrs ! Rudkin's, stated that she earned 11s per week for 40 hours per week, and 13s per week for 44 hours.. Mrs Corde, of Wilmer street, and, a party cited, stated that there was too much cutting going on between tie different hosiery manufacturers, and wages suffered in consequence. This closed the case for the Union. MrG. Bkckwell, in opening the, case for the employers, said that the dispute was the first o*f *he kind in the colony, . and the emplwers had been placed at a disadvantage in that they had. been unable to submit their log Qβ the logof the recentlyformed Employers' Association. The wool industry had been looked upon as the most remunerative for workers, and--the factory proprietors had been complimented by the Minister of Labour and,others upon the. excellent conditions existing for the workers in the factories. The demands of the Union were utterly unreasonable,, and. he was strongly of opinion that the Union never expected to get what they demanded.. In the Kaiapoi Factory alone the increase demanded would amount to £11,679 per" anraum, and the Company had never made a total profit, in one year, equal to this amount. Further, it was impossible for the company to raise the prices, as they would be undersold elsewhere. • Last year the total imports of woollen goods had amounted to £782,592. It was, therefore, impossible to meet the demand by.raising the prices, and he considered it would be also impossible for the duty to.be made higher; the tendency, in faot> was to reduce the duty. Touching upon the wages question Mr'Blackwell- stated that'most of .the wo* done was unskilled, and although some of the girls complained of 37s per week, yet the Tailors' Union in a petition to Parliament not long ago expressed their complete satisfaction at a wage of 25s per week. There was evidence through the log submitted by the Union that, the women workers were not to be treated in anything like the same as the men, for the men were to receive an increase equal to 90 per cent., and the girls only 19 per cent. If piece work were abolished and the hours decreased it would reduce the output 20 per cent. In 1896 there were 1416 operatives in the woollen trade, and at the present time the number would be about 2000. The Union had a membership of 400 only, and could not %j a long way supply the operatives wanted. The increase in "wages : paid, by, the. Kaiapoi Company .was 90 percent, greater than the Scotch factories. Then again, the Home authorities were'in a far more favourable position as regards the purchase of wool and machinery. For the first three years of its existence the Kaiapoi Company paid no dividend. Speaking upon the impression that had gone abroad that the Union had endeavoured by means of conferences'" to settle the matter amicably, Mr Blackwell quoted several letters which had passed between the Union and himself with the object of showing that no overtures had been made by the Union until their'statement had been filed. Ther6onductof the Union all through was, ha contended, anything but conciliatory. •• Evidence was then called. Thomas 'Miller, in charge of the wool department at Kaiapoi, stated wool drying could be learned in a few weeks , , and wool scouring could be learned in three months.

John Capstick, employed in the dye hilise, Kaiapoi, stated that the work was very healthy. The labour was all unskilled, and until lately it had been the custom to employ boys for extracting. Andrew Johnston, foreman cardey, stated that the reduction of the hours would decrease the output. At Kaiapoi the boys were started at 6s per week, and increased up to 15s or 16s.

Walter Broadley, engineer- at Kaiapoi, stated that he had two main engines and eight special ones.to look after. He was responsible for all <he engines himself. A man in charge of the wool drying machine had no right to interfere" with tne engines. George Ellen, employed in the office of the Kaiapoi.factory, said that more work was going through the looms now, than ten weeks ago. The work on the new blantets had caused tire girls' liands ta bleed. After the representatives of both sides had delivered their final addresses, the Board adjourned to consider their recommendation.