LABOR IN BRITAIN

Evening Star, Issue 19758, 7 January 1928, Page 6

LABOR IN BRITAIN

TRADE union STATISTICS GREAT INROADS ON FUNDS, (British Official News.) Press Association—By Wireless-Copyright RUGBY, January 5. The report of the Registrar of Friendly Societies on the trade unions for the vear 1926 shows a further decrease of 300,000 in the membership. Owing to the general strike, the expenditure on the dispute was the heaviest experienced. The funds were reduced from £12,725,000 to £8,725,000. in only one other year have the trade unions suffered such great inroads on their funds, and that was in 1921, when they distributed £7,000,000 in unemployment money, BUSINESS METHODS CRITICISED. LONDON, January 6. (Received January 7, at 9.35 a.m.) The Registrar of Friendly Societies report states that the management cost of the unions was 14s Id per member, while the benefits were 17s Bd. The Registrar criticised the lack of business methods, resulting in heavy losses due to officials’ defalcations. He said tliat one instance of the trustees’ neglect enabled an official to decamp with £3,000.— Sydney ‘Sun’ Cable.