WORLD OF LABOR.

Mataura Ensign, 15 May 1912, Page 2

WORLD OF LABOR.

I BRITISH MINERS' WAGES. I SATISFACTORY AWARDS. i BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.—COFYItIGHT. : I'iiLi UNITED rltiiSS ASSOCIATION. ! LONDON, -May 11, i The chairman presiding over tlie Nor:h Staffordshire dispute gave awards which have satisfied the miners. The \vages range from 5s to 6s 2d for men and. Is 6d to 4s lOd for boys. •The Leicestershire awards have also proved satisfactory. | demands rejected. I LONDON, May 1-1. Lord St. Alduyn, at the Conciliation Board sitting at Cardiff, rejected the masters' demand for a decrease and the men's demand for an increase in wages; but it is believed that the men will probably succeed at the next review of the wage rates which will take place before June .'JO next. AFTER THE STRIKE. ; LONDON, May 13. | Tin Dowlais steel works, which were rendered idle by the coal strike, are slowly reopening. W AIHI MINERS' STRIKE. WAIT!I, May 1 I. The town it; rnnvie:! with small knots' of rs discussing the position. I Every :hing is orderly, and. 1000 strikersattended a free picture hlimv this niorn-| ing. As far as can .foe ascertained, both sides are firm. I '•THEIR OWN DIFEERKXCES.'' AUCKLAND, May It. At a. rough estimate, Mr Rhodes (local director), in an interview, said he thought that close upon 1800 men at Wailii and Waikino would be rendered idle by the strike. He added that the Waihi Company would not take on nonunion men to fill the vacancies created by the- strikers. "It is not a quarrel with us," he said. "The men must fight out their own differences. The Wailii Miners' Union cancelled its regisi tration under the Arbitration Act on j May 5, 1911, when its membership "was i 1350. and joined the Federation of Labor." Mr Rhodes was asked whether since that time the men have been working under an agreement. "Yes," he replied, ''they were working under an agreement, which they have broken without an instant's notice. It was one of those famous agreements under the Federation of Labor which can be broken when it suits them. There was no mention of strikes in the agreement in question." | WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES. j AUCKLAND, May 1-1. ; Mr Rhodes (the Wailii Company's mining representative) and Mr Barry . (mine superintendent') in an interview I said that the trouble was between the Minor"' Union am! the engine-drivers, no!', with .the companies. If the miners v.vro prepared to resume' work now the companies could do nothing, as the whole question had been submitted to the New Zealand Gold Minors' Association. AUCKLAND TRAMWAYS UNION. i AUCKLAND. May 1 -!. I The question as to whether the Auekj land Tramways Union should secede | from the Federation of Labor and regis- ! ter undru- the Arbitration Act has been . nwitnting the minds of members lately. ; The matter was considered by the niorn- : irsp: and afternoon shirts to-day. and both decided, to remain in the Federation by a substantial majority. SHORTAGE OF LABOR. WELLINGTON. May 1 !. The Minister for Labor (Hon. George Lauren son), in reply to a eommunieatirn f:'T.n 'he Wellington Industrial Association urging the Government to bring skilled labor from Home to l'-e- - existing shortage, stated that-, careful consideration, the Cabinet lie-' derided that it cannot see its way to do anything in this direction. The association at its meeting tonight considered the Minister's reply ! unsatisfactory, and resolved to approach j e'. 1i; v asso-iations throughout the Do- ! '"li'v'on v,i:h the view of taking joint ac--1 tion. THE CONCILIATION COUNCIL. -BOOT TRADE DISPUTE. AUCKLAND, May M. The Conciliation Council was engaged this morning in hearing a dispute filed by the New Zealand Federated Hoot 'Trade Association of Workers against the New Zealand Boot Manufacturers' Industrial Union of Employers, the claims of the employees including the shortening of hours, an increase of wages and a general improvement of conditions. The Commissiom r (Mr T. Harle Giles) presided, the assessors for the employees being Messrs J. Hutchinson, of Wellington, S. C. Brown, of Dunedin, and C. P. Barnes, of Auckland, and the assessors for the employers Messrs Wm. MeKinley. of Dunedin, ?. Hodgson, of Auckland, and W. H. Murray, of Auckland. Mr W. Pryor, secretary of the New Zealand Employers' Federation, appeared for the employers and Mr G. R. Whiting, of Christehureh, for the employees. In opening the proceedings, the Commissioner pointed out that under the new regulations a Dominion award was ne:'o" r ;ary in the boot trade, and if an agreement were arrived at in the present dispute that agreement would probably be ratified by the other centres and a Dominion award filed in due course. ?dr Whiting had begun to put his j ce:;e when Mr Pryor interrupted by say-| i 1 that he did. not wish Mr Whiting I ■o make any statement that mmht per-] haps prejudice his ease. In short, the ; employers were not prepared to !.■:<> on ; 'vi h the matter before the Conciliation Council. The objection was that this '■• a-- '-nly a local dispute, while the ob- : e'-: 'lr;sired was to take steps for a Do- '(>!»»!•> "ward. It was, ho said, certain. • i*> be regretted that a delay had taken place in preparing the new regu- j 'ations, for it was now nearly six j months since the Act was passed, and! H'ere had been plenty of time for the framing of regulations. But he was.

going to ask the Operatives' Federation to withdraw their proceedings, and to take steps now to obtain a Dominion award, otherwise it seemed to the enij plover,s to be a useless waste of time to i go on over old ground again, for after i arriving at an agreement here other rel ferences would have to be filed throughout the Dominion. Mr Whiting demurred sit such an attitude being adopted by the employers. The Commissioner expressed the opinion that a more representative con-j ference could not have been got to- ; gether, and he thought that it would ' be a pity if n 0 attempt were made to j arrive at some understanding. Both Parties then separated to confer privately on the position, and at the! resumption of the sitting, Mr Pryor agreed to discuss the matter further, providing that the union representatives would meanwhile narrow down! their claims to bedrock. The employ-1 crs would stick out for the old award with very few modifications. j After further discussion it was decided to adjourn to enable the employ-' ees representatives to consider the ad-visableiu.-ss 0 f submitting modiii. .- posals. ARBITRATION COURT. PEIt UNiTED Pit ess association. AUCKLAND, May 11. Ihe Arbitration Court continued its! this morning, when the inspee-1 tor of factories proceeded against the ! General Laborers' Union for an alleged breach of the Arbitration by in-' citing a strike. It will be remembered j that last spring the men engaged on the city drain works objected to subcontracting and a general strike ensued. Air A. E. Skelton said that, as ami-j eus curiae, he wished to suggest that proceedings had been strongly fought out not Jong after the. events referred to in the statement of claim. The union had conceded its registration under the Act, and had actually ceased to exist as a body co-operate. There was really no union to sue, as it did i not exist by law. I Mr Selwyn Mays, for the Depart-j inent, contended that .such a position wotdd not be tolerated for a moment, and argued that the union was still answerable for any wrongful acts committed while it was iiiukr the jurisdiction of the Act. Mr Justice Si in said that the Court would consider the point, and in the meantime would hear evidence. A number of witnesses were then called, including the city engineer, who said that on October 24 the secretary of the union rang him up and said that the executive had decided to call a strike. In answer to a remonstrance the president and secretary of the union told him that they were practically torced to call the men out. Mr Skelton, in opening the ease for tlie delonce, said that quite a number el men came out of their own accord without any instigation from the union or its officials. I. Arms, secretary ol the union, said that the men first ceased work, and were not called out by the executive. His Honor asked the witness how he reconciled that with his statement to ill' Hush. Witness said that he would not say that Mr Hush was making a lpis-stal.e-ment; but- he felt that there must have been a misunderstanding. What witness said was that the men were out. His Honor: If your evidence to-day is true, the minute of a resolution endorsing tilt' action of the executive in calling the men out" continues an untruth. Why did you allow this to appear as a minute? A iter a good deal of hesitation, witness said that he could not explain that P. Eraser, the president, was also pressed as to why lie allowed the minute to go on the books. Witness suggested that when the men were excited they were not so particular as to terminology as thev would be when calm. His Honor : "When they get excited, they .put lies on the books?" Witness did not agree that it was a lie. Witness .went so far as to admit that a mistake had been allowed to creep into the minutes. His Honor intimated that the court would consider the matter.