THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

Evening Star, Issue 20362, 19 December 1929, Page 23

THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

£By J.S.S.]

Brl*l eanlributian* «o matter! with referette* >« ' th« L*boui Movement art invited.

AUSTRALIAN COAL TROUBLE. The deplorable position which exists on the Australian coalfields is a matter ol : much public interest and fear at present. Those who have marked the uncompromising attitude of the mine owners and have studied the miners outlook as it changed to a deeper, redder hue have been able to foresee troubles of a major kind; There has been no hint of moderation, no spirit of compromise present in any of the many absolutely futile conferences that have been held" The owners would not open the mines unless a reduction in wages was agreed to, and this the men steadfastly refused The issue was in the beginning clear enough; but gradually it lias assumed a difficult and more troublesome character. Those whose experience extends only to the more moderate, conservative attitude which distinguishes Nerv Zealand Labour must necessarily find it difficult to visualise the exact orientation of Australian Labour. There are gradations there which are not present in this country. The Communists, not always openly and avowedly such, have an effective voice in unions and industrial negotiations. They dominate more particularly in New South Wales, and that their counsel and plans for action are accepted lias been an obvious factor in the present dispute. Witness the refusal of the miners to consider the terms of settlement agreed upon by their leaders. In an earlier time the prestige and influence of these leaders would probably have carried such weight as to obtain full support from the men. To-day the leaders, especially the political leaders, have their actions branded ns traitorous. Certainly the terms offered to and accepted by the leaders were almost identical with those offered by the Bavin Government at the commencement of..the trouble. The terms called for a 12-} per cent, reduction in wages, and the concession of the “ right to hire and fire ” clause to the employers, which latter, in the opinion of the miners, would lead to wholesale dismissals of those most prominent in union activities. “Not a penny off the pay. rot a minute on the day.” is the slogan firmly imprinted on the minds of the miners.

A feature of the position is seen in the manner in which the Labour Press of Australia deals with it. The Sydney ‘ Labour Daily ’ had high hopes that, with tho advent of Labour to power in the Commonwealth sphere a satisfactory settlement would ho effected. Now .it expresses disappointment that the Federal Government, owing to its hitherto unknown limited powers, has not brought about the desired end. The Australian ‘ 'Worker,’ the Australian Labour Party’s strongest supporter, expressed its attitude towards the leaders’ recent actions for a settlement in a strongly _ condemnatory article headed ‘The Miners Thrown to the Wolves.’ It, too, was strongly against tho proposed settlement. The ‘ Worker ’ has shown nothing in common with, and frequently denounces, the Communist element which controls tho Australian Council of Trade Unions. Nevertheless, it has given very keen support to the miners. The ‘ Worker ’ is a supporter of the “ White Australia ” policy which directly conflicts with the aims of the A.C.T.U., which is affiliated to the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat, an organisation controlled by Communists. The Communists owe allegiance to the Russian Third International. The object of the Communists in Australia, as elsewhere, is to foment strife where possible between opposing sections of Capital and Labour. Co-oper-ation, industrial welfare and peace, and all constitutional reform tactics are eschewed by the Communists as delusions. The abolition of capitalism, they say, can only be brought about by an intensification of the struggle between the differing sections of Capital and Labour. Capitalism (and all that it implies) must definitely perish before any effective framework for a new social order can be commenced. - For years the Communists have bored within the structure of the legitimate Labour movement, but now their open and avowed policy is to oppose official Labour as at present constituted. Recently the Australian Conimunist Party received a command from, the headquarters of the Third International that it was not to co-oper-ate in any form with the Australian Labour Party. Any attempts on the part of Labour loaders at corVrjmomise or reasonable collaboration with employers were to be attacked as treacherous, and shown as such to tho rank and file of workers. Such a policy has had evident effect in assisting to create the present holocaust on the coalfields. It has changed the miners’ outlook, as stated before, to a deeper, redder hue. The fight js not merely ono to preserve or defend pre-existing standards of Jiving; it has reached the stage where the present basis of society is lasing seriously challenged. The coalfields arc always a fertile ground for tho germs of discontent, because of tho unhappy conditions 'which usually exist there. In the lower and more unfortunate sections of any country Communism always finds a good breeding ground for its revolutionary methods. The extent of Communist activities in helping tp prolong tho mining fight cannot bo overemphasised. Acting through the Miners’ Minority Movement in New South Wales, and with emissaries and agents throughout the length and_breadth of the country. Communism is admitted to be rampant. * # > * PAYMENT FOR ACCIDENTS. Incorporated in tho award of the Otago Drivers’ Union is a clause which states that a worker who receives an injury in the course ot his employment shall receive full payment of wages during the term of his incapacitation. This is not generally known, and may have led to disadvantageous settlements being made by workers who have not consulted their unions concerning payments for accidents. It is commonly but mistakenly assumed that twothirds of tho full wages is the only compensation allowable. _ It is sound advice for victims of accidents to consult their union first before making claims, as the true position and the exact rights of tho worker can only thus be attained. ‘ ♦ ♦ ♦. * GOVERNMENT RELIEF WORKERS. That there is truth in the repeated statements by union officials of bad conditions existing on Government' relief works is becoming increasingly obvious. Union officials by opposing interests may be suspected of attempts to make political propaganda in favour of the Labour Party out of the manifold grievances brought to their _ notice. But criticism of this nature is misdirected. The officials are appointed by their unions to organise further workers into the ranks, and while doing so-are expected to use just such influence and power as they possess to give proper expression to the reforms which are sought and needed by the workers. Men employed on big road and rail

construction works, wlictncr relief or otherwise, arc often inarticulate as to their grievances. Their employment is only temporary, and as they are drawn from all grades of society and occupation. in matters of redress there is no unanimity of action or ideas. Men the same trade are able to combine better because they are of the same type and have the same, ideas. The writer has examined a number or duplicate, pay sheets of men employed on one particular Government relief work. At first he-thought the lists of payments, ranging from £8 downwards, represented weekly earnings. When he was informed that these represented the total wages of each individual worker fbr a month, his amazement was intense. Imagine able-bodied men subsisting on £2 weekly and less for u month. In many country places tins would barely coyer living expenses. Making full allowance for certain men s incapacity * to perform satisfactory labouring work, there does appear to bo a fault somewhere in the contract rates, which are fixed by the engineers. It is not alone a matter of wages, the conditions affecting personal comfort and convenience are alleged to be bad. Sleeping accommodation is stated to be poor, facilities for obtaining food supplies are meagre, and long distances often separate ’the camps from the works. ■*• . * * “ AUSTRALIA FIRST.” Commenting on a statement by importers that the new tariff schedule would damage Empire trade, the Labour Minister for Customs (Mr heuton) stated that all British industries had the option and opportunity of establishing themselves in Australia.;!, During recent years over a hundred English business concerns had placed branches in Australia, while two members of the Big Four Delegation had invested money in this country. “Australia must be a self-contained country, and if Britain wants more trade with us let her manufacturers come here and enjoy the protective policy,” said the Minister. . . “My policy is Australia first, Britain second", and the sister dominions third.” * * * * HOLIDAYS.FOR STATE INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYEES. All employees in State industrial establishments are to have sis days’ annual holiday with pay.* This decision of the British Labour Government brings a boon to about 100,000 workers. A qualification for the six days’ holiday is a year’s full service. The new holiday is in addition to the public holidays for which pay is already given. The concession now granted was pressed in vain on Coalition and Conservative Governments. It is warmly welcomed bv trade union leaders, many of whom, however, press for a fortnight’s holiday with pay. #•* « * LABOUR FOSTERS LOCAL INDUSTRY. Speaking at Albury recently, the Federal Labour Minister for Markets and Transport (Mr Parker Moloney) said the new Labour Government had pub its hand to the plough in a manner which, for earnestness and celerity, was unprecedented. The new tariff schedule was apparently welcomed by the manufacturers and every well-wisher of Australia as a long-overdue stimulus to our own industries, which had been allowed to languish under the Bruce-Page regime. That schedule,- although only an instalment, would provide an impetus not only to our many secondary industries, but also to our primary industries, which had suffered in the past by having to compete with cheaplygrown overseas produce. It was gratifying to have the published assurance of the president of the Chamber of Manufactures that many industries which were about to close their doors would now continue as the result of the Government’s action, and also to read the statement of the head of one section of the hosiery trade that an additional 2,400 employees would be engaged in that trade alone. The Government, said Mr Moloney, was determined, where it could be shown that an article could bo produced here, whether it was a secondary or primary one, that a full measure of fostering protection would be provided against foreign importations in the interests of Australia’s manufacturers and primary producers, thus securing employment for our own working men and women. The Labour Government had to increase income taxation in order to help in squaring the finances, which had been left in a deplorable state by the Bruce-Page Government. While the general community seemed to realise that the new Government could not be blamed for this, it was imprudent on the part of the ex-Treasnrer (Mr Page) to rush, into the Press in condemnation of the Government. In criticising the income tax proposals Mr Pago had stated that the people would now know the price they would have to pay in the first year for having a Labour Government in office. The real position was that the people would now know the price to be paid for having had six years of Mr Page, whosefinancial bungling left the new Government no other choice but to impose extra taxation in order to square the ledger. • * ♦ » STAGES OF HISTORY. History is a progression of social stages which have preceded and succeeded each other like the unfolding of life from the amoeba to the mammal, or from the bud to the fruit. To-day we are in the economic stage. Yesterday we were in the political stage. Tomorrow we shall be in the moral stage—that is, the stage in which man shall recognise his responsibility to both- his intelligence and his conscience.—J, Ramsay MacDonald.