“SWEATED GOODS”

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 136, 5 March 1929, Page 10

“SWEATED GOODS”

A REJOINDER Interviewed yesterday regarding the remarks of the Deputy-British Trade Commisisoner in reply to the allegations of the 'New Zealand Wholesale Clothing Manufacturers’, Association in reference to sweated goods, the president (Mr. A. E. Donne) stated:— “Mr. Eambie’s recital of the English award rate is doubtless true, and only assists to illustrate our case. A comparison of . the rates quoted by him (shown in parentheses) with those paid in New.'Zealand may be interest; ing. In New Zealand the . minimum time rate for males is 87s. 6d. per week or 2s. per.hour (lljd. hour)., females 455. per week or Is. OJd. per hour (7d. per hour) ; the hours in New Zealand are 44 (48). “Even at these rates it will be easily discernable that to adequately protect New Zealand scale of wages'-the?,pro-tection required on that item is i for male labour 104 per cent, and female 75 per cent. No mention is made of rate paid to learners, which in England is 65.;6d. per week, against the New Zealand rate of 15s. per week, or 130 per cent- advance. The tariff-pro-tection is 25 per cent, ad valorem. “If the award rates were enforced the above is all we would have to complain about, but unfortunately the goods we are concerned about are not made under time rates but are produced under piece rate conditions of home industry. The workers contract to make up goods at very low rates in their own homes. They are subjected to the very severest competition in arriving at the rates paid and the goods are actually made under sweated conditions. - The workers actually sleep, live and work in the same rooms. This can be vouched for by an expert clothing manufacturer who has just returned from London.”