ARBITRATION COURT.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11346, 8 August 1902, Page 2

ARBITRATION COURT.

WOOLLEN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE.

The silting of the Court of Arbitration at Kaiapoi, resumed yest«Tday btfon Mr Justice Cboper and Messrs h. Brown and B. Slater. John C. Bate, tweed presser, said some of the pieces to toe lifted weighed from 2801b to 3001b. It was .heavy and risky work. His wages were 36s a week, and he put in a list of requirements for a family, amounting to 30s per week. Mary An n Capil, a darner, employed for twelve yeans on piece and day work, said she earned 34s per week full time, or an average of 32s 2d, including holidays. She ■sras told that if she made beyond a certain amount she would be wholly reduced. She preferred time work. May Richards, engaged for seven years at burling and knotting, said that she earned for the last twelve months 3Qs a week, and in the previous year 28s. She had been toH if they earned 3Gs they would be. reduced. She would prefer time payment at a fair rate. A. Blakeley, who had been in charge of the yarn store for fifteen years, and who was responsible for the yarns received from the spinning, said a great deal depended on iis vigilance. The value in his stock was worth £8000 or £9000. His wages were voluntarily raised by the ex-manager from 36s to 40s. Edward Collins, yarn dyer and twister, for eignt years, said a roan had to be expert to perform the duties. At times he had to work in a hot drying room, and also the sulphur store. His wages were 30s, and his age twenty-two. John Wilson, pattern weaver, employed for seventeen years, eight years in the pattern "weaving, said his wages were 455. He considered he should be pa-id more. John Richards, pattern weaver, said pattern work was skilled labour. Hie wages were 455. He was not a member of the Union, and had not suffered in consequence. To (Mr Pryden—ln England he had to 'work fi%-sk hours, and his. wages were 40s. To Mr Blackwell —Weaving was done b; piece work. "<3«o. W. Bradley, certificated enginedriver, said he worked fifty-seven and a half hours day work, and sixty hours night work, and had suffered ill-health, but another assistant, if put on, would reduce his pay, which was 64s for forty-eight hours. R. Baker, waggoner, said he worked eleven hours, including stable attendance, and his wages were 40s. He had a free house. • J. Warwick, night watchman, said he was paid 36s a week. In the Belfast works the night watchman had 7s a day. This closed the case for the Union, except the calling of one witness, and taking of local evidence in the hosiery dispute. Mr Blackwell, Chairman of Directors ol the Kaiapoi Company, addressed the Court, emphatically contradicting the statements of the Union's representative as to steps being taken to arrive at a conciliation. The first intimation of any dispute was the Union's demand for the increased log, to be answered within eight, days, and when a conference was held, the Union insisted on its demands as imperative. He emphasised this statement, since a local paper had asserted that in every instance the employees had approached the employers for conciliation. He went on to say this dispute and the allegations made were unfortunate, as the directors had been comt plimentod on the conduct of the mill. Since he had been in Court, he wondered if the Bench would consider they were conducting a mill or a hospital. The existing state cf affairs would, however, not support the implications without fear of contradiction. Hβ could assert it was the highest paid mill in the world. and the conditions of the workers had received praise on all hands; in fact, had the Premier been in the colony, he sliould Jiave felt constrained to call Mr Seddon as a witness in support. . Personally he had inspected many mills, and asserted that there were none better in the pay and conditions of the workers. The Hon. Mr Reeve*, the Chief Inspector for Labour, and many M.H.R.'s could give their testimony in this direction, and to the insinuations he hoped 12 he Court would personally satisfy itself 5 as to the health conditions of the premises, 5 etc. The Act under which the case came 5 was for the peaceful settlement of disputes. £J Xow, he maintained that misrepresentation = : could not go in their direction, and Mr 5 I Reeves had said it was possible it would, s J only at occasional times it would be made Ej { use of. The demands of the Union and house E j settlement had affected the value of shares 5! by £13,500. Though the demands were un- = I reasonable and the Trades Council had, he 5 j believed, said so, the Union persisted in = j ite action, but not in the interests of the 5 j workers, if they could see the effect of their I j work. a Mr Blackwell continued his remarks after a the luncheon adjournment. He said if the a demands of the Union log were agreed to, 3 there would be an increase of 45 per cent. ; on one of the best paid mills of the colony. jj The Union's demand for 44 liourg meant = an increase in wages on the 48 hours' sysE tern of £11,679, or if 45 hours, £10,766. : This was more than the net profits for I many years, as the six annual balance- | sheets would show. The enormity of the I demand caused the Chairman of the Con--5 ciliation Board to ask if the log was a try on j or was a bona fide demand. He was told E that it was a bona fide one. He pointed I out that the dividend paid by the Company : was 7 per cent., with about 1 per cent. : carried to. reserve for improvements and : new machines. They never knew when J the mill might be called on to get fresh J machines to meet the exigencies of the J trade. Th© Farmers' Union and freetrade [ party had already said they thought they J paid enough, and, if necessary, they would I have to go in for imported goods." There ; was already a large increase in imported • goods, in four years reaching £170,000. : The increased demand in wages would I m>an an increase of 20 per cent, on the i price of the goods, but the public would not be prepared to pay for it. Prices were already cut so fine that an eighth of a penny per yard might mean the deviation of an order. The wages, he submitted, were fair, and proved to be so, when some of the workers left to take outside work and came to be taken on again. Since 1890 the mills had gone on day and night, and persons in constant work would receive a fair wage. Iq regard to night work, the directors wished the hours to be arranged by the operatives and the manager, or would leave the question to be settled by the Inspector of Labour. Overtime, <■» provided by the Act, was agreed to after the 48 hours. The Union, the Court must have seen, desired to conduct the mill, in fact its members had suggested they should do without a manager. Tha directors contended that employers were entitled to full control of their : factory, and must be the judge of the men wham they would engage. Evidence would be given, and the Court would conclude that pie?e work assisted the industries. He dented it encouraged sweating. Piece work was an advantage t-o the operative and the Company. It was considered that piece work did more although there were some who did gcod time work. The demand for day work pay came from 350 persons, as * against 2150 in tie woollen trade, who evidently favoured piece work. The Union could not supply all the skilled labour of the mills. Regarding the demand for one worker to one loom, he pointed out that new looms were coming out at which one person could manage several of them. In this connection he trusted the Court would not handicap the woollen industry of the colony against that of the Old Country. For, with those improved looms and 55 hours' work in Emrland, and 60 hours in Germany, the " colonial woollen manufacturer would be put out. Mr Blackwell then proceeded to deal wnh the other points in the Union's demands. He also expressed the hope that in the event of an award being made, it would have a colonial operation. Mr Justice Cooper said the award could be so applied, but the Companies in other places would to be cited. At present he could apply any award to wasthe Canterbury Companies. If the manufacturers federatei in a union, and the workers did so, tflat would be one course. The Court, bowevir. could not advise, -hot simply deal with/the cases in hand. Mr Blackwell said he understood that I

the Union did not wish to penaßs- the Kaiapoi Company. Mr Revell said thai was co.

-Tvid__ce was then called, Geo. EP--. acting clerk, Kaiapoi mffl. produced sfcate__ent of individual earnings. David Patenson, manager of ths O-ffi—ru Mills, -tated the.effect of the Union log would be to increase the price of production, and that bad to be guarded against, as there waa strong compefcitio-. Tbe redaction of hours would mean a loss to the manufacturers in the year of three weeks six hours for each worker, end eleven weeks as compared witb 6cotl___. He paid 60s per week for foremen, in which position men in tbe Home <>>un_ry would receive 24t, to 30s. He paid the labourers 30s to 355, who in the Old Oo___y would be paid 18s, 19k, and 20s. Tbe competition j was speater with Germany and France- Fot weavmg iuey paid snore than 25 per cent, than in Scotland. He had been through the Kaiapoi works, which were most complete. The work was healthy. The manufacturers' log was too high in some respects. R. C. Glendining, manager of the Roslyn Mills, said he had 1 beard the evidence, and was of opinion the occupations in woollen mills were healthy. The piece work system was preferable to day work. In I the manufacturers' log some of the prices were too high. He concurred with 31r Paferson that they would not care to have a_ colonial award. To Mr Revell: The Kaiapoi rates of pay for weavers were very fair. W. Ramsden, manager of the Petone Mills, who said he had had experience in the .English mills, agreed that the work in woollen milts was healthy. He did not approve of one worker to one loom. Witness said a new loom was being introduced, sixteen of whioh could be managed by one penson. He did not favour the idea so far as that number, but at Wellington one weaver managed two looms similar to some at Kaiapoi. The piece work system was most satisfactoiy to master and man. The manufacturers' log was such that if it came to Wellington he would have to oppose it. The earnings at Petone and Kaiapoi .would (be ths same. He did not consider it practical to limit the boys in proportion to men, and he did not approve of doing away with piece work. The increase in the Union log, if applied to Wellington, would mean an extra cost to his company of from £5000 to £6000 a year. Thos. Millar, wool expert, said the wool used now was such as required by the , trade. No serious accident had happened > in the wool room except a slight mishap to a man who had a deformed finger. Three months was ample to learn the wool-scour-ing, as a matter of fact, men had done it without fault in a fortnight. At 4.30 p.m. the Court adjourned till 10.30 a.m. to-day.