ALLEGED SWEATING.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 76, 1 April 1910, Page 3

ALLEGED SWEATING.

A DENIAL AND PROTEST. The paragraph, which appeared in Wednesday's Post in regard to the sweating wage offered to a reporter to prepare a report of the proceedings of a certain Labour Conference, excited some resentment among the delegates at the resumption of proceedings yesterday. The conference, which is that of Federated Painters and Decorators' Unions, maintained generally that only one side of the affair had been published. It was stated yesterday that the conference was unable to offei more than 15s a day for the work, and had expressly told the applicant for the work that they could not go beyond that sum. The applicant then volunteered to prepare one longhand report for that sum. This the conference could not accept, as not fulfilling their requirements, which wero that each delegate present should havo a copy of the proceedings. It was not intended, according to the version of the story -given by the conference, that the report should be absolutely verbatim. At the same time the conference had almost concluded its business, and regarded it as practically useless to have a full report of the latter part of the proceedings, seeing that the earlier portion had been recoided only in a brief minute. There was absolutely no thought in the minds of any of the delegates of employing a. reporter at less than a fair wage. They simply had not the funds to afford more than 15s a day, art^l, finding that the work could not be done for that, dropped the matter altogether. The minutes of proceedings stated, re shorthand reporter, that Mr. Reyling (the local secretary) reported that there was a reporter who was open to engagement, but the conference thought that as a. very large amount of the business was done it was now unnecessary. At yesterday's gathering Mr. Martin, moved, and Mr. Hart seconded — "That* this conference resents in the strongest manner possible tho scurrilous attack made on Labour by the two Wellington pa pen--, The Post and Dominion, and stigmatises the same as absolutely false, misleading, and published purely for the purpose of discrediting Labour generally." The motion was carried unanimously. Mr. Hart, the president, in conversation with a Post reporter, added that the paragraph had created the utmost indignation, and much feeling was displayed by delegates. At the Conference of Shearers yesterday, a resolution was adopted as fol-* lows : — "That this conference desires it to be made Imown that the paragraph appearing in the Evening Post of the30th March, re the sweating wage offered to typewriters, had no reference to the Shearers' Conference, as it had no occasion to employ a typewriter." TO THE EDITOE. Sir, — R& paragraph commenting on the Painters and Decorators' confe.ence, and engaging a shorthand reporter, we are instructed by the conference to give a most unqualified denial to the statement contained in your paper of yesterday's date, as the same is a tissue of misstatement and misrepresentation of the facts, in the matter. 1 may say that when tho question of a reporter came up for consideration, this conference, in no shape oi form, expressed any opinion of the remuneration for same, but declined at once to engage a reporter, as a very largo part of the business was already dealt with, therefore making th.i engagement of a reporter unnecessary t and the interview therein reported with the secretary did not take place, as no communication whatever between reportei and secretary took place.. (The writers enclose a resolution reported above). — We are, etc., ALFRED D. HART, President. JAS. BUCHANAN, Secretary. [The paragraph in Wednesday'^ Post did not state that the conference desired a verbatim report, but "a report of discussions and resolutions. " A verbatim report of a meeting lasting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. might easily run to twenty or thirty columns of Post print. Assuming that the report could have been condensed (to the satisfaction of th' 3 conference) to, say. three columns for tho day, the requirement of twelve type-written copies would have involved the reporter in an expenditure of at least 16s to secure the aspi&tance neces- ! sary to complete the task overnight. After the offer of 15s for this work had been put to the reporter, he sought advice from a member of the Journalists* Institute (attached to the staff of The Post), and Tho Post representative accompanied the reporter to the Trades' Hall. The position was explained in detail to the conference's secretary, Mr. Reylirig, who professed to know something about typing, tie said that when it was proposed to get twelve type-writ-ten reports of the day's work, he had remarked that the cost would be about 30s, and the delegates replied that they could not afford 30s. They offered 15s. It was explained to Mr. Reyling that this offer could leave little or no profit to the reporter, even assuming that he did several hours' typing himself, at the close of the day's reporting. As a matter of fact, subsequent enquiries made by the reporter showed that he would bo probably out of pocket on the deal. As an alternative it was suggested to Mr. Reyling that the reporter should provide a good longhand report for 15s, and leave the conference to make its own arrangements for typing. Otherwise a minimum of 25s would be required for twelve copies. Mr. Reyling undertook to place the proposals before his colleagues, and said he would give their answer at 12.30 on Wednesday. The Post representative waa not pres-ent when Mr. Reyling announced the reply to the reporter, but the reporter said he had gathered from Mr. Reyling's answer that- the delegates considered that 15s was all the work, was worth. This evidence, however, is not corroborated. In any case, the plea of the conference that it could not afford more than 15s — it is a conference supposed to be representing practically all the painters' unions in' New Zealand, and the work was to bo for only two or three days — is no excuse for offering sweating terms. The only possible excuse that could be advanced would be utter ignorance of the work cntniled in reporting the meeting and furnishing twelve typewritten copies. Employers, in general, are not exonerated on a charge of sweating when they plead that they cannot afford to give their employees better treatment.]