LINES ABOUT LABOUR.

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 March 1907, Page 1

LINES ABOUT LABOUR.

The building trades still keep busy (reports the Auckland Star), while the painting trade is slack. The tailoring trade is slack, it being between the two seasons. Factories still keep busy. Bootmakers report work as fair. Engineering trade is fairly brisk. /Labourers are still wanted, and work on the wharves is reported as -Tied. The Brisbane workers’ back is up over Mr Millar’s recent , remark concerning the slaughtermen’s strike; ‘1 am not going to have these Austra bans coming here, defying the law, and upsetting things generally.” It is incomprehensibk-tsays tho Worker) why tills Minister should talk such twaddle when lie knows better. At the Tndusrinl Labour Congress in Melbourne, Mr Bceston, New Zoaland ivpivson alive and a vice-presuiT cut. stated that so great was there faith in the late Mr Seddon that Now Zealanders did not bother much about organisation, but since Ins death they realised that they would have to form a parly of their own. Labour unions in Australia everywhere arc passing strongly worded resolutions opposing immigration. ‘1 ho conspiracy to flood flic Australian labour market with surplus wageearners,” says lire Brisbane Worker, “was formed at the Premiers Conference of twelve months ago. Judging of bis remarks at a meeting of the Melbourne Immigration League. Leak in was (he arch-conspirator. Dyson’s now book “Factory Hands, published in Melbourne, deals with a book-binding factory and the girlworkers. There are also some not very complimentary pictures. According to tlm Labour Call, when the sheets had to be folded, “the girls employed on the job dipped into tho book, and discovered that it was a sort of “sling off” at their own crowd, so they promptly struck, and the work had to ho scut elsewhere.” An old and well-respected official—?,[r H. Ferguson, late Inspector of Factorijes (writes Industrial Tramp, jji the Stiir)—-has passed over to tho majority. For months past he has been doing bis work under difficulties tbiit insidious af! men t influenza, caught him in its ruthless grip, but his strong sense of duty to las department, would not allow him to leave his work, until ton late, and Auckland is now the poorer for his less. In the town of Dessau a school for the purpose of training girls in chemistry connected with tho sugar refilling industry was opened some time 'ago, ""and has answered so well that similar training schools connected with soap-factories, paper works, and ether industries requiring thorough laboratory training arc now being organised. The young ladies in question are all girls of the better station in life, and all who entered as ongiral pupils of the tirst school have passed their recent examinations so satisfactorily as to have found posts at once. .