HARD TIMES FOR LABOUR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 513, 21 May 1909, Page 6

HARD TIMES FOR LABOUR.

CONDITIONS IN NEW ZEALAND. 'SYDNEY PRESS COMMENT. CORROBORATION AT THIS END. Sydney papers to hand contain a good deal of comment concerning what is termed the exodus from New' Zealand to Australia. The "News" of May 11, for instanco, has tho following: . "There is a steadily increasing influx of workmen into Now South Wales from New Zealand. Every boat from the Dominion is crowded, arid, according to reports that are daily received at the Sydnoy Trades Hall, it would seem that prosperous days in Maoriland havo for the time disappeared. It was stated this morning by a New Zealander who had been engaged in the frozen meat trade at Gisbbrne, that.there aro hundreds of men out of work in the North Island. .The frozen mutton industry was itself making good headway, but all the unemployed of the Dominion were making their way to the town, because it had been reported that last year there were not enough men available to copo with tho rush of work. It seemed that nearly'every trade was Slack. Hundreds of carpenters and joiners were looking for work in other callings, or coming over to Sydney. The large number of immigrants also tended to make matters worse for the others. It was stated that 140 working men came across in the steerage of tho steamer Victoria from Maoriland last week—men who : had practically abandoned New Zealand for New South Wales; Mr. Corbitt,.general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, said for over twelve months there had been a rush of carpenters from. New Zealand to this State. Trade was certainly good in Sydney, but there were dozens of men in their trade out of work. Mr. Durack, secretary of the Tailors' Union, stated also many tailors in New Zealand were having a bad time.- A number had come over.to: Sidney, but, happily, they had been able to get work. One New Zealander, discussing the matter with an 'Evening News' reporter this morning, said: 'I should be sorry to seo any friend of mine go to New Zealand this wintea.' " "■' ' ■', ■-•■;■• "Lamentable." . ■ Again, on May 14■■ the "News" says:— "The exodus of working men from New Zealand continues, and by the Warrimoo, which arrived in Port Jackson on Tuesday, there wore 220 steerage the majority of whom have come to Sydney in search of work, Several already, have gravitated to the Trades Hall, and there wero quite a number of Maorilanders in the offices of the vari-' our union':secretaries this morning." In answer to inquiries, Mr. W. Roo, secretary of the Painters' Union, informed an "Evening News" reporter sthat during the past month or so he had received the/clearance bards of about 40 members of New Zealand unions. Happily trado in Sydney at present is good, aha nearly all the, men found Among tho latest arrrvahs is Mr. R. Gibbs. an of tho Wellington Painters' Union and'a vice-president of the Wellington 'Workingmen's.Club. He said tho condition of things in that' otty wis lamentable. Of his own knowledge he\ knew of 200 union carpenters out ofj work, and there must have been'; 150 non-unionists in a similar-plight. '.There:-.were .also-'6O painters on the 'out-of-work:';books. ■■ Bricklayers and plasterers were having a bad time, - as there were only four or five'decent buildings being erected. • In answer to a question, Mr. Gibbs stated that;'from his, observations in Sydney he thought a man earning Bs. 6d. a day-here was as well, if not bettor, off than a man earning 10s..aday in New Zealand. ;Mr.JI.W. Cutler,-secretary of the United Furnrture Trade Society, said that about 40 furniture makers and : French polishers had come from Maoriland of .late. Among these ; was Mr.' M'Gregor, .the ex-secretary of the Furniture Trades Society. Mr.' M'Gregor that'- the furniture manufacin Christchurch were only working half time, and the town was full of unemployed. ..Quite a.number of tradesmen had loft,'many had come'to Sydney, and others had gone, back to England. Auckland, he said, appeaied'to bo -the' only city whore there was anything doing. ■' Inquiries In. Wellington, V .Information, was ,sought locally yesterday by a Dominion representative as to how far the reports.of the state of labour appearing in, the Sydney press coincided with the actual conditions obtaining in, Wellington. In such'.a,caso,it is necessary to approach the trades' union secretaries, who usually havo :therrfingers on,the pulse of the labour market. ;. ; In most cases the reports wore very discouraging. '■'■.'-'.••'.'.-TV QMr.:. Carey,'.secretary of the Cooks', and Waiters'; Union, said that dozens of his mem-, bers have been out of work for many weeks past, and instead of "getting better, the • situation seemed to .be getting more serious. He had-just heard that several of the big; hotels were shortening: hands.. "Some of, the members are so hard up," says Mr.' p are y/. they '.have come to me for the loan of 6d. day after day to get a meal with. I can't go from here .(Willis' Street) as far as Cuba Street without being stuck up four or five, times for the loan of a bob, and I know it is to buy tucker'with—not to dnnk or spend in'other ways. This is no exaggeration—things are too bad for that. One chap came at me for the loan of a bob three days running, and on the fourth I had to refuse, him. It was a bitter cold night and raining, and when I got homo I could not eat myself; for thinking of tho pooridovil. May Die in the Street. ; "Again, there is; the case of two Germans. They came here seven months ago just when thing'siwere gettihgbad, and havo been practically living on charity ever since. They've tried to got work, not-only as-waiters, but havo failed everywhere. The Labour Department has nothing for'them; the German Consd cannot find work, for them, and wo have donoiqur. in vain. I dr/i't know what we're to do this winter if relief works aro not started!" ;!., . ~-'-.'•, '■■ Mr. Carey said that a good proportion of those unemployed who were returning to Sydnoy were deluded Australians, who had been induced to come to New Zealand through,inaccurate reports of the state of/labour in the Dominion.' A Big Drop. ' Mr.~M. J; Reardon, the secretary of the Unskilled Labourors' Union, supported Mr.i Carey in what ho said about, the depressing state 'of labour in Wellington. "The City Council is the only body that is doing anything at all, and only one out of every five labourors is.making anything like wages. It is. quite true about the .exodus ,toSydney.:. Ask the Union Company and they will tell yon that tho steerago accommodation on its boats to Sydney has been fully occupied for nearly six. months past. Members havo got their discharges from me about the middle of tho week, intending to get away to Sydnoy tho same week, . but have not beon able to do so,' owing to the big demand for accommodation, and if you want to see mon out of work, go to tho wharf, or watch tho crowd that assembles outside the Union Company's -..'stores in Victoria Street, botwccn'9 and 10 o'clock each morning. At this time last year, there were 900 on the' books of the Union, now I don't' suppose there are more than 200. . "As an instance of how bad things thero is a labourer who has been in Wellington for 16 years, and up to the . present year he has never been out of work more than-, fourteen days at a stretch. That man has :heen. out of work for the laßt seven weeks)'.and is still out I Some of the men went to-Australia,.in response to an advertisement, of the Now South Wales Government,,, who wanted 1000 navvies for railway works, at Bs;f.a day." Tho Dock Coriiraot. ;. . "Relief works'will havo to bo started this winter ' in Wellington, to kcop body. and soul: together" with!«somo of the men who cannot got away, owing to having wives and famiKes. At tho, same 1 timo, I can't imagine why'M'Lean and Sons do not get ahcaj with'the dock contract, 1 and give work to a fow more hands. ?; It' is not being pushed ahead • with; and" I "can't understand why the Harbour Board does not iivtorforo, par- . .AiriiWyE -as :ifc now-'haa .-Ml* ..{Wilford £$,

chairman. We get weekly reports of the progress of the Otira tonne] contract. What di we care for thatP Tho dock concerns ns immediately, and there is only a handful of men employed on the job. Why is it?? More Cheerful. Mr. Moriarty, secretary of the Furniture Workers' Union, drow a much brighter picture as far as workers in the furniture trade wore concerned. "I say, without fear of contradiction, that as far as our trade is concerned, things aro satisfactory—that is to say, there has been, up to the present, enough work to keep all tho good men going, and there have been no cases of distress. Of course, there are men casually out of work for a few days owing to the fluctuation in tho orders at the big factories, but that is inevitable in every trade. There have been no cases of actual want or anything like it como under my notice. Some halfdozen might have left for Australia during the past three or four months, but that, was accounted for by tho natural ebb and flow of tradosmen. With respect to thoso arriving from the Old Country, all tradesmen in our line have boon accommodated with work —not one has had to leave us. I would like to. say this, that'l believe tho prosperous state of the trade in Wellington is in a measuro duo to, the amicable relations which exist between employers and the union." On the Wharf. Mr. D. M'Laren, MJ?, (secretary of the Wharf Labourers' Union), was very doleful over the situation. Ho said it was quite truo that many were leaving the Dominion for Australia. During the last three months ho had cleared about 150 members off the books, and others had gone away without getting their. clearances. Labour on the wharf at' present was very dead indeed. There were over 200 men in excess of the average number needed every day, and there wero more,cases of genuine distress among wharf labourers than he had known sinco he became secretary of tho union. Ho knew of one case, that of a man who had earned his living on the wharf for twenty years past, who Tiad. been unable to obtain work lately, and to his knowledge had been subsisting on one .meal a day. 'Mr. M'Laren has put up a notice advising members that it was useless to look for work in other New Zealand ports, as he had, received letters from all ports stating that the supply already exceeds the demand. Three Hundred for Australia. _Mr. Brown, secretary of the Building I'rades Labourers' Union, said that fourteen months ago there were 700 builders' labourers at work in Wellington. To-day there were 160. At present there were about 25, oi his members out of work, and some 300 Had gone to Australia within the last sis months. Mr. Brown stated that more than one,case of acute'distress had been brought under his notice, and appeals were being made to him daily for assistance. "I don't know whether the population of Wellington has decreased," said Mr.. Brown, "but I do know that there are fully 2000 less artisans' and labourers employed in Wellington now than tins time last year." . It was also learned that there had been a considerable exodus of carpenters and .bricklayers to_ Australia,' consequent upon .the in the building trade in Wet lington. •':,