WHAT UNION SECRETARIES SAY.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14660, 8 May 1913, Page 4

WHAT UNION SECRETARIES SAY.

Mr E. Howard (secretary of the General Labourers' Union) eaid that local conditions were, apparently, not so bad as in other centres.. Except as the result of climatic conditions, there vcro not very many organised workers out of employment at present, though fchoro was a considerable number or unorganised workers, including some new arrivals, and men from the country districts, who were unemployed. Of the 1500 belonging to tho General Labourers' Union, ho did not think that there wero any out of work; at any rate, he had no record of a greater number, and the members generally let him know. Tho outlook for the winter was fairly good. He understood that some of tho local bodies had money to spend. For casual work the winter was always a rough time. Even though a mild winter was experienced, there was always a number of country workers who shifted to town. There appeared to be a number of men leaving the railway construction works— men were in town, ho believed, from OUra and from tho Bealey. Ho anticipated that work in connection with tho Lake Coleridge scheme would bo put in hand shortly. j Mr "Woodham, secretary of the Fell- ! mongers' Union, said that so far as tho frozen meat industry was concerned it would be busier during the winter months this year than in previous years. On account or the strike earlier in the year, operations had been retarded by something like a month or fivo weeks, and "though the works wore a little bit busier than usual for this time of tho year, he did not think that they had been able to make up for the month or so lost earlier in the season. At present tho prospects looked good, and there were no men out of work. There would be the usual period of slackness, which would be this year from August to December —usually it started in July. Up to the present ho had not had any applications for work of any description, Mr Hiram Hunter (secretary of the Timber and Coal Yards' Employees' Union and of tho Drivers' Union) said that, so far, there wero no indications that the membera of his unions were out of work to any extr The indienriona wero that there -mild bo a numbc out of work during the winter, principally in-tho outdoor occupations, with which wet weather interfered. Ho difl not think that the indications wore that a largpr number than usual wonVl' ho out of work. As far as onllers nt his office- wero concerned, there had been nothing out of the ordinary. Thero wore six hundred men in the Drivers' Union, and only threo in search of worlc called during tho past wock. Thero wero no applicntions for work from the of the Tirhl>or and Conl Yards Employes' Union, "but those out of work usually searched for it direct nt. the yards.

y\r 0. R. Whitine (secretary of tho ' .'Pootimkers' Forlcratipn), refprrincr to t)m s+ato of nffnirs in Christcliurch. pnid flint tho boot industry had not been in such a bnd condition ps reTnrds emptoyiDOnt dnring tho past five- years as it was at jvvsent. and ns it had T)oon pinre the Now Year. As far as he could ascertain morning, there were bet-woon fifteen and twenty out of work, nml ftno were talking abonfc leavins: New Zm'rtnd, in which r.xse the position would bo relieved. of the factories trorc working on short Hmp—somo bad nod as much as a week on end off work. The prospeots for +ho winter wprp nnything but bnirht. He did not think the unemplorment wns dup to lack of women workers. Three works' ago ho ha<l had a«v Jicntiong for work from four women, wbn barl been disoh n r?f»l from the factonra. It was difficult to say how mnnv women workers in the trade wero out of work at tho present time, as, unb lr » V*o men. thov df<7 not rnme to the office. Tho foot that cHrkprs wore on short t<me in most of the factories showed that the orders wero not to hand, and that the present position wns not due to tho want of women workers.