ARBITRATION COURT.

Evening Post, Volume LXII, Issue 130, 28 November 1901, Page 6

ARBITRATION COURT.

XINPLATE AND fiHEETMETAL OPERATIVES. Yesterday's proceedings in the Arbitration Court are reported on page 7. The dispute before the Court this ' morning was that brought by the WelOington Tinplate and Sheetpaetal Operatives Industrial Union of Workers. The i -union was represented by Messrs. W. J. ijtees (President), Geo. M'Kay (Treasurer), 'pnd W. H. Hampton (fjecretary). Messrs. J. A. Plimmer, of the Wellington Tinware Manufacturing Company, and T. Darland appeared for the employers. The Conciliation Tioard's recommendations, which the employers rejected, were generally favourable to the union's demands. The Boavd gave a 46i-hours' week where the union asked for 45 hours, and Is 2d an hour where the .union usked Is 4d. The Board agreed in the main to the union's demands as to overtime, prohibition of piece-work, travelling expenses, classification of workmen (as journeymen amd apprentices), legal indenture of apprentices and their maximum proportion tto journeymen (one to three). The employers chiefly opposed tho wages, classification, ana apprenticeship demands. 1. Jackson, master plumber and tinsmitb, called b<y the union, said he considftied Is 4d an hour too high for the ordinary thvjmith. A large proportion of tinsmiths' work was boys' work, and to withstand, outside competition it would

be necessary to maintain a high proportion of boys to men. He opposed the union's demands generally. T. Garland, master tinsmith, thought a boy cculd not go through the whole catalogue of work in five years. Time should be an improver stage. A fair minimum wago was 8s a day. A fair wage for boys was — fir.st year 6s, second 9s 6d, third 12s 6d, fourth 17s 6d, fifth 255. (The Conciliation Board's recommendations—s3, 10s, 15s, 20s, and 30s. The Factories Act provides a minimum annual increase of 3s in the wages of boys and girls.) He objected to the proportion of apprentices. Wm. J. Rees, President of the union, stated that the employees could do proportionately more work in 45 hours weekly than in 47£ weekly. Nothing was done in the last hour on Saturday, and It would be to the employer's interest to cease wort at 11.45 a.m. on Saturday. He opposed a class of improvers being introduced — he would sooner see an extended term of apprenticeship to six or seven- years. Deterioration in transit (dents through contact awl rust tWrough wet) was a handicap on importation, in addition to which the imported article, when repaired, would have to compete with the local one after paying 25 per cent, duty on freight, which was large if the articles did not " nest " or pack well. He did not think that the increase of the journeyman's wage to Is 4d would give an opening to imported articles. More boys about the place than the proportion of one to three journeymen would be a nuisance. Piece-worij meant inferior work, and greater waste in material. There was no fixed standard in the shop he worked in. . All, sorts and conditions of work came, and a log could not be fixed for the trade. A factory hand should be paid as well as a hand in a tinsmith's shop. A tinsmith should be paid a"s iwell as a plumber, who earned under the plumbers' award Is 4d an hour.' To Mr. Plimmer — He had worked on piece and scamped the work. Mi-. Plimmer — Was there a competent foreman? Witness — The foreman passed it. Mr. 'Plimmer — If an employer has dishonest workmen Witness — Not dishonest. Mr. Plimmer — Certainly it is dishonest. The witness said it was the employer's fault for grinding down the rate on piecework. The President (Mr. Justice Cooper) — We have the facts. We will not discuss the question. (Left sitting.)