STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 72, 26 March 1914, Page 2

STRIKES AND LOCK-OUTS

AUSTRALIAN WORKERS'

LQSSES

The completion of the. returns for the'last quarter of 1913 has enabled the Commonwealth statistician (Mr Knibbs) to present particulars in respect of strikes and lock-outs throughout the Commonwealth during last year. This is the first occasion when systematic information has been collected as to industrial disputes in Australia for a complete year.- During 1913 as many as 50,283 workmen were involved in 208 disputes, 622,635 working days were lost, and £288,101 was lost,in. wages. . The following table; shows the total . number of disputes which "caused stoppage of work in each State and Terri-. Tory during 1913, together with particular^ of the number of workpeople " involved, number of working days lost, and the estimated loss in wages: - " to ■ ; s si S if States, Etc. 3 J*~ m' 5^ ■' ' s |fc & '•§§■ £ < New South Wales „. 134 40,011 447,979 208,468 I j Victoria ... ... 29 6,177 77,587 32,596 I Queensland ... 17 2,006 77,178 37,684 i South Australia ... 9 288 2,412 1,029 West Australia ..:' 9 967 12,492 -5,615 Tasmania... ... 8 464 987 434 Federal Capital Territory ... 1 , 200 1,400 600 Northern Territory 1 170 2,500 1,675 Commonwealth ...208 50,283 622,535 288,101 The loss in wages represents £5 14s 5 7d for each person involved. Mr \ Knibbs points out that from the ag- \ grcgato loss in wages a rough idea of the total loss entailed by the whole community may be obtained. For the whole of the manufacturing industries of the Commonwealth the returns of the past six years show that the average proportion of the "wages paid" to the "total value of the output" is almost exactly 20 per cent. Assuming that this applies approximately to the present instance, it follows that the aggregate resulting loss in" pro- I duction is roughly about five times i the total loss in wages, namely, about ( £1,400,000. Probably the figures are [ somewhat less. . , J ■