LABOUR MATTERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 169, 10 April 1908, Page 7

LABOUR MATTERS.

MB. WADE'S BUI. UNIONS ASKED TO- IGNORE IT. STRIKES PREFERRED. DY TELECIUPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPTBIQIIY ' .- (Rec. April 10, 0.53 a.m.) Sydney, April 9. The Labour Council has resolved: That in the, event of. tlio Industrial Disputes Bill, as. amended, passing Parliament, tho Unions' be recommended to ignore the Bill, and .to resort to strikes for tile settlement of industrial disputes. ■ - ' v '■ -MR. BARNES AND THE ENGINEERS. 'BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPIBIGUT. S - ■ (Roc. April 9, 9.30 p.m.) London, April 9. ' : I-.With. regard to the . action, of Mr. G. N. - - Baines, . Labour member - for Blacktriara (Glasgow), in resigning the general secretary-. . ship of tho Amalgamated Society of Engineers, Mr. Barnes has declared that his ■ resignation is.due to the North East district . .of tho Engineers'- Association setting- itself ! ■>' above the whole body, and wasting the Society s-strength., If Trade Union officials - were to be'flouted without, reason, the efFeo-. tiveiiess of Trade Unionism would bo weakened, and the principle 'cf collective bargaining would bo undermined. : j THE BILL IN COMMITTEE. . Writing sunder, the- date', of: Sydney, April 4, our Special Correspondent remarks:— ■ - The New South Wales Premier (Mr. Wado) has. readily percieved the ; force -of .certain • "strong objections made: by the Opposition in t the course oi the second-reading.debate,on theindustml Disputes ' Bill/ ; thc measure by .winch it is proposed to..establish Wages.Boards'" ,*:V . in place of the ..Arbitration- Court. .-: Accord- :.. . .HiKly.i he. has (brought down certainamendments, which have had the effect of meeting \ in a material degree certain of, these obioc-: / - tions. The Bill now gives the right of appeal .from, tlio decisions of the Boards, by a pro- .• vision for the establishment of a Superio'r Court, which at present looks, very much liko ' . - the Arbitration .Court all,over again.-' If the' light of .appeal to; the Court, i? to be'conceded in-every-casoj it: wiU^meflri,"-apparently, a.sjrs-f teni similar to that "instituted ,a; good-many: , years , ago in-New Zealand, where the parties - to: a dispute were' entitled to go from tho Board of Conciliation ,to the Arbitration Court, and as this practice was invariably followed ■ by the dissatisfied party,'it meint tw<s hear- > ■ ' ings of a dispute, instead of only.'one. Tho •Wages. Boards, it is only, fair .to poiht out, on:the other hand, will be-very.different from the Hoards of: Conciliation in New- Zealand, ■ inasmuch as,theywill comprise experts from the ,particular-trride under review; and honco: ''. it will -he - possible fir'i fifty' disputes to bo ' investigated-at :the ;one time. This will not, \: - only removo the'delay w]iich is at present so >' . extensive, a source' of 'dissatisfaction,., but it;, ' is •, probablo that the appeals against *tl», : 'de-'. cisions of.- meii who are experts, and well, ill- ' formed in'a "practical .way ; ahout the conditions i - : of the 'industry "concerning which- they' make,:' tho : awards,; will be 1 comparatively 'few. ;■ Tho- Bill does not grant ' "preference; -for,r :: . Unionists, and this, in the eves of the Labour ■ party,is oiio. of;its .gravest, faults;' The ,Goveinment, - however,* will- go jio further than .-••• to!; say that-.- it will be'. within ; ...the . power, ,»f,(;■/*: '-iu th'e, A7 a ses.'Board,' as: it 'is. now- within the- : power:, of -the Arbitration Court;, to grant' preVi'ir;",--: .ferenco;_ if,; it : ;so desifts. ''- A' strenuous-. battle, over;,this question f took place' in -the Assembly , on" Thursday night, when tho Bill was in'.Co'himittce'.' ; One, of the Opposition,: (Mr. Griffith) moved: an amendment. to pro--,yido'that in an'iiidtistr.v, where a. Union ex-< isted, noh-TJnionists: should not bo regarded as - parties to: a dispute, bit this-was' rejected'by; the.'flovernmbnt' majority, by 'lf .votes' to 31. ! . While Mr. . Wade repudiated inj' wish'on'llia : [part of the Government to "sand-bag" tho Uiiioiis, -hei emphasised;, the view, at the : same ;time that no body of men would be'deprived, 'of their just rights; because they happened, to , be outside the Union. PiWereneO in'approach-- - - }ng' ; the Court- wis. given;; to organised.:bodies • by clause; ll of the; Bill,: but outside that,, the :- - whole "purpose ? of the nieafcuro was to constitute tribunals from which: ho > man should ' & debarred in obtaining his rights of redress.;. . : ; ' :; To" make the authority of the Boards cleair, i the Ercmier. addeil a' new sub-sectioii to the • interpretation clause, to give them authority ; to heartheclaim Of '• members of a Trade';, , Union' tn be /employed, in jireference to per- • soils who are'nbt: members. - This, tlife Labour X party cordially accepted, ' but;-they naturally . made a great row a few 'ipinuias later when Mi.' : Wadc-proposed another ..sub-section to give i. : the Boards power'also to: hear,."any* claim of- , , employers or:employees.that.persons not mem--bers>of> a Trade' Union.'shall be employed in:- - -preference to such members, or that members .of "one.. Trade Union' shallbey employed in .;: preference: to others." '.Mr.- Wade said'he; ' put'thife forward as tho balance of the other:' ; , proposition, • .but the' members ■ of. the Labour ■' -v' party-.regarded ,it in.:quite' a; different. light, . ■ maintaining ,that;it, would be/absurd for non- . • Unionists to-claim'-preference of'. employment • over. Unionists.' ■ However, the. new sub-section was carried by 40 votes ',to: 28, but it will prob- :- . ably remain a, dead-letter.; The provision en- . abling non-Unionists- to: become parties a dispute, has been'amended'to "provide : tbat in- , stead of the 'tiiinimiifti number being 10, it . 'miiKt be 20.'' Tho Hill has now- passed, through Committee, 'and, the third reading is to b« moved on Jlohday.' •