MALE CLERKS’ WAGES.

Evening Star, Issue 22327, 1 May 1936, Page 12

MALE CLERKS’ WAGES.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir —la your issue of the 28th inst. "Penpushers" complain of the unsatisfactory conditions of employment under which male clerks work, and asK " Why should this state of affairs be allowed to continue?" Surely the correct answer is because Penpushers," in conjunction with other office workers, will it so. "they willed otherwise and put that will into active operation, the "state of affairs" they allude to, would no longer continue. Probably " Penpushers" are unaware that in 1923, at the request of office workers,'l "formed and registered the "Dunedin Clerks, Cashiers, and Office Assistants' Union which ceased to function owing to employerdom suborning'its employees, including members of the union, into signing a statement giving preference to the formation of a Clerks' Guild over that of a union, and to prevent the union from obtaining an award of the Arbitration Court. Employerdom submitted to the court a schedule of conditions of employment and rates of pay intended'to be observed, and, owing to a weakness in the Arbitration Act, got away with it. The members of. the guild, if there are any such, were a trusting kind of people, were they not? Apparently " Penpushers " are not aware of any such institution. Is anyOQG clsG Fortunately the industrial legislation which the present Government is enacting will retard, employerdom from taking any such reprehensible action in the future. If the office workers in Dunedin wish to improve their lot, it is incumbent upon them to form an industrial union for that purpose, which is the unalienable right of all workers in the Dominion. The question to be decided is:—Do the office workers in Dunedin want a union, and subsequently an award of the Court of Arbitration governing their" conditions of employment, including of course their wages, or do they not want such union? As I more than anyone else appreciate the raw deal the employers gave them some years ago, I am prepared to help them to obtain their legitimate desires. It is anticipated that the new industrial legislation will be in operation as from June 1. The formation of a union and. other matters can be completed and the union be in a position to approach the Court of Arbitration during the month of June. It is not generally known that the Clerks, Cashiers, and Office Assistants' Union in the Australian States numbers some thousands of members. It may be desirable to quote section 16 (1) of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment (1936):- " In any award made after the passing of this Act, the court, on the application of an industrial union of workers, or of an industrial association of workers (in either case being a party to the dispute) shall make provision to the effect that, while the award continues in force, it shall not be lawful for any employer bound thereby to employ or continue to employ in the industry to which the award relates any adult person who is not for the time being, a member of an industrial union of workers on which the award is binding. (5) For the purposes of this section a person of the age of 18 years or upwards stall be deemed to be an adult." There is no ambiguity in those sections. I trust that the foregoing will be saisfactory to " Penpushers," and also those clerical workers who have recently been urging me to intercede upon their behalf, "it is now up to them to get and keep busy.—l am etc., L. F. Evans. April 30. [A portion of this letter has been excised, being matter for advertisement —Ed. E.S.] '