NOTES AND COMMENTS ON LABOUR QUESTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12654, 7 September 1904, Page 1 (Supplement)

NOTES AND COMMENTS ON LABOUR QUESTIONS.

[BY ARTISAN.]

Mr. W. P. Black has tendered his resigna* tion as president of the United Furniture Trades Union. At the end of April last the New South Wales Miners' Accident Relief Fund totalled £90,000. :« It is almost criminal, says the Premier, that there should be' such large imports tions of foreign coal into the colony. John Burns is freely mentioned for a place in the next Liberal Government m - (Jieat Britain. From 600 to 700 men in West Australia have been thrown out of employment, owing to slackness of work, and the closing down of timber mills. Messrs. Price, of (lie Thames, are to he congratulated on their successful trial with the locomotive built at, their shops. Tha workmanship compares very favourably with the best imported engines. It is to be hoped that in future all engines and rolling stock required by the Department, will be manufactured within the colony. At a recent.meeting of the Trades and Labour Council of Kalgoorlie, W.A., the proposition was submitted that the working day for miners should consist of six hours, instead of eighty as at, present. The reason, assigned was that there was a large number of men out of work in the district, and that by shortening the lifers more men would be employed. ' . • ; ~ | Adelaide Women Workers' Trade Union is endeavouring to establish; a! Mending Bureau, the members of. which will go out to do a day's mending of clothing, etc., «■,; repair article?! sent to them.... it it, hoped, will prove a'boon to many a mother with a large family, and at the same time be the means of earning a livelihood for thes* not capable of competing for factory work. Haying failed to fix up a satisfactory industrial argreemeht with the employers, tha Sydney Electrical Employees'/ Union has decided to apply to the Arbitration Court, for better wages, conditions, etc. The loilowing rates are demanded : lis per day for engineers attending machinery, and switchboard attendants ; lis for leading wiremen jf 10s for wiremen; and 9s for certain specified branches of the trade."-';!' '„ ;

The Merionethshire (Wales) medical officer for health suggests as an explanation of ', the fact that quarrymen are'more'prone to phthisis •than colliers that the colliers have a , daily bath from head to,foot, whereas the quarrymen seldom, if ever, bathe themselves ■ all over. In fact, this, was a weakness in the district There- are, he believes, thousands of grown-up people who have never had a proper bath in their lives'. - "'•■ ',-.'. ?■ . The delegate board of the Northern Colliery Employees' Federation, N.S.W., decided to grant £100 to the men at the Waratah Colliery, who have had only six days' work i (hiring the last six weeks, and £400 to tha Co-operative colliery men, who have not averaged 23s per week during.this year. The money is to be replaced to the funds of the union by a 24- per cent, levy on the earning*. - of member) of the federation. yfV,.. .-: = **: ' The registrar of arbitration has notified the Sydney Journeymen Coopers' . Society that unless the rides are altered ; . .Ie will cancel the registration of the Union. - The rules objected to are those which fix a competency test for men seeking admission to the union and were framed for the purpose of keeping up the standard of journeymen coopers. The registrar * rules that the employer should b< the judge of a. workman's "competency. < All trade unionists' will regret to hear that the Victorian Coalminers' Association has disbanded. \ The whole of ;the. records and ■ effects of the late 1 association have been left in possession of late Secretary Wilson, who . maintains that unionism is not dead in the coal district':, and will come a';, in stronger; than ever. Recently a large deputation, representing the Victorian' employers* sand",'"employees 4 urged oh Mr. Bent, the Premier; the lie; ■ sity for legislation to prevent the furniture , trade passing into the bands of the Chinese. It was stated that' there were 614 Asiatics engaged in the Melbourne furniture trade, and only about 100 European's?'*/'. '! ! ' ; The Labour Day Celebration Committer has received a large number of ' subscrip-; tions i and trophies in connection •' with; tb«, forthcoming • water > carnival at Motntapu. . The committee has drawn up • an r attractive and varied programme of athletic and aquatic sports, a special feature being a mtiaber oil ! events for the Maoris, who are expected fram the Waikato. '■* The executive |of the com,' mittee waited on " Mr. * Wilson; i who. has) ■ '■; kindly consented to afford his employees at K the Mahurangi Lime Works an opportunity; of attending the carnival. . The local trade. unions are unaaimous int' urging upon the Government the Necessity t v of appointing a Royal Commission te inquire*-: into the \ working and management ■ erf; th* '?'■■ Auckland Hospital, i: The case of Mr. Peake y a member of the Amalgamated j Society «£ ■ Carpenters and Joiners,;; and a former » delegate to the Trades Council, ; is; one that htd created a good deal of comment, mare,:'..;''■ recently the case of Fireman Gladding. ;l: : . ' Waitresses, in the opinion \of the Wel- ,-; : lington inspector of factories, ought to be brought, under the operations of the Shopg • and Shop Assistants Act. v *' These girls have to work long hour's," he says in Ms annual ? ■ report, " and have no Act to project them.. I have come across many instances wher*; these girls have to keep on duty from twelve to sixteen, hours a day, and if they are not;- ; satisfied - With this (heir only remedy is to • go to another employer, who will treat them very little better. The sleeping accommodation which is provided for these workers is ' also a matter which should receive careful : consideration.". ■■ '■; ;. ' ■-;•;; : * '"""*■« _> r, . The debate on the land question in the House of Representatives is being watched with interest by the trade unionists throughout the colony. The cardinal principle of the labour party with regard to the land is that "The earth was made to be a common treasury of livelihood for all, without respect of personsj and was not made to be bought and sold." *■< ' ; . ~: j ''■ Organised operative bake;« and confectioners in Great Britain are agitating for th« abolition of night work in ihe;r trade. They contend that there is no reason why men engaged in the baking trade should have t<i perform their labours at night..; The local union made a strong effort before the Arbitration Court when their case was being heard, about eighteen months ago, to obtain the abolition of night work in this trade [ without avail. .",•■',-." *■•". There is very little change to report at " present with regard to the local labour market. The building and allied trades are still " slack, quite a number of tradesmen being;; out of employment, but there is a probability -" of a revival shortly. The furniture ' trade is improving in Auckland; \ and f reports from the South are to the effect that this trade has been very good; for some time, and is ; likely to maintain its position. s Ship and boat building industry is very fair just now;, - there being a number of. small craft on the ; stocks. Good progress is being made with the alterations to the s.s. Clansman, and the fitting up of the Putiki is almost completed. ; and the trial spin will be held shortly. Work has been fairly plentiful on the wharf during the week, but as usual a large surplus of labour was offering. The timber industry is very fair just now. Some of the mills are working overtime cutting orders for shipment. JEngineering is fairly busy. There is but a slight demand for. unskilled labour, but the approach of warmer weather should cause au exodus from the city to the country shortly of this class of labour. There h*as been a considerable amount of prejudice against Australians in South Africa, so much so that of late Australians have had no chance of obtaining employment in that country. This prejudice is not confined to South Africa, but has obtained a strong hold in New Zealand, especially in the South , Island,. There has been of late a consider- ;; able amount of newspaper correspondence on the question in Christchurch. This pre- ■', judice is met with mostly among the farming > community. Why it should In as is hard to ' understand, for the average Australian s * "./..." hard working, straightforward, independentman. Perhaps he is rather too independent. . ■■