LINES ABOUT LABOUR.

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 47, 23 August 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

LINES ABOUT LABOUR.

Tho Melbourne Trades Hall Council lias been considering the exclusion of the press fiom its meetings, but lias yet to come to no definite decision.

Tho New South Wales Minister for Works is providing employment for a numoer of men, heads of families, who are in necessitous circumstances. An official board has been appointed to report upon the suitability of certain land in the interior for the purpose of settlement, and also as to the best means of clearing and preparing the same. In response to a request from the Stonemasons 1 Union, the Mew South Wales Minister for Public Instruction has agreed to insert a union wage clause in contracts under his Department. The Minister for Works approves that all registrations on the books of the State Labour Board, by unionists seeking Government employment, should be made through the Union Secretaries. The Unemployed Conference sitting in Sydney has passed further resolutions :— (1) That Parliament should pass measures extending the scope of the Factories Act and establishing wages boards ; (2) the establishment of State sugar and to-acco plantations to undertake the refiuing of sugar and curing and manufacturing of tobacco; (3) the establishment of a State fire, marine, and accident insurance department, and the extension of old-age pensions. In the West Australian Legislative Assembly, Mr. Johnson, a labour member, asked the Premier whether, in view of the thousands of unemployed throughout the State, the Government intended to take any step to pi event an influx of population, and whether they intended to provide work for the present unemployed. The Premier replied that ft was not in the powir of the State Government to interfere with immigration, but I tho Government would inform the press of all the States as to the condition of the local labour market. He added that the Government had not so far thought it necessary to provide work for the unemployed. The Pastoralists' Association of ( Victoria has passed a resolution in, which it states: — "It must bo obvious that the policy of the Australian Workers' Union in New South Wales since the passing of tlhe Arbitration Act is to demand an exorbitant increase in the rates so that they might appear to be making a concession in agreeing to an increase on a rate already sufficient. There was already abundant reason for the belief that a sufficient supply of shearing labour will be available."

It was stated before the Melbourne Trades Hall Council the other day that there were about 500 people engaged in the Melbourne cardbox trade, the majority being women and children. , The foreman of one establishment who. had been connected with the same kind of work for many years, was paid 35s per week, while from 20s to 30s was the average pay of men per week of 48 hours. Boys 16 years old obtained 5s per week, ana girls who were paid on piece work, made from 6s 3d to 17s 6d per week, getting from 2d to Ad a dozen for making boot boxes. In some shops, where wages were lowest, men were paid 15s, forewoman - in charge of eight or nine girls Bs, and girls 3s per week. Mr. Wise, Attorney-General of New South Wales, says of the Arbitration Act in that State .-—The truth is that the Act must kill the agitator by making his calling useless. The mere agitator, as distinguished from the genuine trades union official, is already beginning to perceive the fact, and trying to discredit the operations of the Act. Fortunately, the bulk of the trades unionists and all the leaders of trades unionism, as distinguished from those who mcrelv affect trades unionism as a means of becoming a candidate for Parliament, recognise that they have gained in the Arbitration Act a most valuable instrument, which if it is properly administered must become the strongest *afecjuard both to liberty and trade unionism.

At a meeting of the Sydney Labour Council the other day, Mr. Riley moved — "That the Secretary be instructed to •write to the State Premier asking him to receive a deputation of the whole Council, including the Presidents and Secretaries of the societies, members of the P.L.L., and the labour party for the purpose of inducing the Government to at once take up the question of establishing a State smelting works." He considered that it was scandalous the manner in which the State Government had shuffled with the -workers over the iron industry. The industry was only in its infancy at present, but in 50 or 100 years there ought to be thousands of persons employed in the. iron industry in New South Wales. And if the industry got in the hands of a private employer a monopoly would be created which would lead to the payment of starvation wages. After considerable discussion, tho motion was carried.

The New South Wales Minister for Works wus seen the other day by some unemployed labourers. They stated that the work on which they were engaged was not sufficient to enable them to. cam living wages. One man said that in three weeks he only made £2 10s. The overseers ou works, it was mentioned, were prejudiced against labourers who came from the Government Bureau at the Trades Efall.

Regarding the earnings of shearers John Hickey writes to an Australian paper: — "I am a shearer and have been fifteen years «t the game, and have shorn all over Queensland, Now South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand. This season I commenced shearing \n the middle of February, and up to date I have already shorn 10,379 sheep at £1 per 100— £103 15s lOd — and I expect to shear 10,000 more before Christmas. My expenses to date for boat and train fares, notel, and incidental expenses, tucker, and cost of tools nt sheds, omount to £39 10s, leaving me a balance of £64 5s lOd, and I expect to add £70 more to this before the end of the season. I am just an ordinary strong average shearer, who can shear 15(3 to 170 a day in sheep cutting 7lb or 81b of wool, and from 100 to 150 in sheep cutting^over that weight. My earnings for the last three seasons have been : 1899, 23,538 sheep, £235 7s 7d ; 1900, 22,976 sheep, £229 15s 2Jd ; 1901, '\ 142 sheep, £iJ3I 9s sd. Any average team of men can average 100 per man a day in the averago shed."

Over 100,000 agricultural labourers in Eastern Galic'ft (Austrian Poland) have downed tools for better conditions. The troops are being used to overawe the strikers.

The Canadian Government's proposed Bill making arbitration in strikes compulsory is reported by the Daily Express to be most unpopular with both workers and capitalists. Meetings were last month baiug held among the working men to protest against the measure. The unemployed loom up largely in Argentine, South America, there being something like 40,000 iv the town of Buenos Avres alone.

The yearly report of the official inspectors on the state of labour in Berlin and its, suburbs gives tho total number of person* employed in factories and workshops w ithin this area during 1901 as 265,162, or about one tenth of all the poison^ po employed in Prussia. This total includes 152,851 men, 66,440 women, 14,424 young persons of fourteen to Fixtecn years of age, «nd forty-seven childien. Of the women, 23,035 are from sixteen to twenty -one yeais old, and 43,405 over twenty-one years old.