WORK AND WAGES.

Evening Star, Issue 9773, 1 August 1895, Page 3

WORK AND WAGES.

In the debate/ on the want-of-confidence motion in the Queensland Legislature Mr Glassey, leader of the labor members, alleged that out of 12Q,000 male adults in that colony 90,000 were unemployed, and he gave the statistics. The ‘ Argus ’ cprrespondent says that one of the hon. member’s critics thinks that figures are as bad as whisky for a man who lacks strength of head ! The Manchester Corporation have come into line with the London County Council and other progressive London bodies on the eight-hour question, having passed, by a large majority, a resolution instructing all committees to reduce the hours of the men employed to, as far as practicable, eight per day. Hitherto many of the men worked nine hours, and some of them seventy hours a week. One opponent of the eight-hour day said that the resolution would involve the Corporation iu an extra expenditure of £3Q,000 a year. An authority on the subject says that in the years 1892 and 1893 815 actions were brought against employers in England for injury, of which only 11 succeeded, and the juries awarded an average of £165 each ; but to obtain this £6O went to lawyers. One out of every 1,400 workmen employed was annually killed, one out of every 2,500 was loudly disabled, one out of every 300 was permanently partially disabled, and 125 oqt of every 1,000 were temporarily disabled. Pursuing a calculation as to the amount to be set aside by the employer to insure against the contingencies mentioned, he estimated this to work out at £1 7s 61 iur every £IOO paid annually in wages, less than 61 per week for each man employed, this being lor the risky employments.