NOTES AND COMMENTS ON LABOUR QUESTIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13160, 25 April 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

NOTES AND COMMENTS ON LABOUR QUESTIONS.

I I i nv aktis vv. In the reoent r*u«ti»l election ;<i < 1 r»" a > Britain, the total Labour vote rveed'xl half :imi!!;0!!, A mm*'!' in 15riti.-h ( "Ihtul : a »•»* fined £50 for work mor<« than cijit hours a day. Two hundred and fifty guinea.- were c*» iiK'Tcii in Sydney lor tin fund si .tiled in «id ;o! fh* v .-ufferors by tin.* Con meres colliery I lh>3<t«H' ill Franc*:. The Northern Colkoi'ie* F.iupioyees' Al- - MK-iatiou in Now Sour!) WVie*. li«x•• decided I to agitato for ail coal mine** lying c'<>*>d I eight. hours out of er» twenty lour. i , | l'he Nov.- South ,i)—. Einp'oYOi.-' Fedj trot ton ha- decided to meet r< pvi'-onw. o! ! liii» Sydney Trade* and L.tloiir Council "i I open ci.iitVivinv to dt.-i i!'- tic-Iruble amend- ! uient> m the State Arbitration Ait. I Tin? :— <• i-;ti unions in he iiou'epainting I have (with tin- <-\rept:oii of Hi Dtlnedui j I'nion) agreed to form a federation. The 1 headquarters of tin l new 1 •••!<■ rit ion will lw ! placed in Auckland fot !In pre-, sit vat. I One of the objects ot I'i'<!•>*rall<>t, is to endeaI vour to obtain ,i colonial ard for the inI dustry, and aim in draw tin* member .5 ituo closer contact with each othei A ease, which is lfeiicvoii to he the first of it* kind under the provisions of i lir Act heard in West Australia, ■ atr.o before the Ivalizoorlie Court on March 2'. when Mr. I (1. M. Roberts wij charged hv the lns|**ct«>r of Mine; that he. by his neglect, •iiu-a-d th<death of a minor in hi.- employ. IVfendant. who pleaded guilty through his solicitor, was fined £2, with £3 Ss costs. Tito opinion oxprcs-w-d by Mr. Hover, a delegate from Auckland to (he Trades Omiiicil Conference, that a. White New Zealand is undesirable, and also unattainable, has received scant, sympathy anions local unionists. Now Zealand is essentially a white mail's country, and is most favourably ciroumstancA'd to lx v kept so. It is somewhat, surprising to hoar a representative of labour expressing an opinion to the <>outra.ry, and in total variance with public, and rspiv eially Labour's, opinion. American Lalniur Federation, which has always stood oft' "polities in the union." has now come into line with •"titer pn>s"c.'isive unionists. Its manifesto, issued recently, urges a political union of all worker*, irrespective of creed, colour, sex, or nationality, and the election of men from anions their own ranks to make and administer Iho laws, on lines laid down by the federation, and to Secure an impartial judiciary, not. governing by arbitrary injunctions of the courts nor as the pliant tools of corporate wealth. Four years ago SI labour unions in New York organised a legal bureau anil appointed ! Morris llillquot. a well-known Socialist at--1 tornev, as Labour secretary. lit; appears for members of the unions in disputes over , breaches of contract, claims against delinquent employers for wages duo, and defends arrested members. II is report shows that lie collected £280 in claims for wages, and ' £640 in claims for injuries to members tn-hilo ' at work. lie also defended 66 mom hers who were Arrested for distributing boycotting circulars, picketing during strikes, etc. ' lam given to understand that, although the balance-sheet of last Labour Day oole--1 bration has been presented to a mooting of 1 the committee and ordered to bo printed, it ' will not be issued to the interested unions : until the meeting of delegates to arrantre ' for this year's celebration is held, which will i probably take pi aw in .lime. Tlioro is 9 J feeling of di soon tenter! curiosity in several ' of the unions on this account, and the meat f ing, when it eventuates, promises to bo of a 1 lively character, which dew not augur too * woll for the success of the next celebration. 1 ' The annual conference of the tr&do and 0 labour councils concluded its sittings in :1 Christchurch last week. The delegates in , ? b conference discussed and * debated, a lsrg» ' " number of questions more or less afTort.iag f tfi-e workers, and the result, of the delibifn 1- ■> tions will be no doubt placed before the Go. -, « - vernment. The tangible results of these con- •V** ferenoes during the past few years as bono- • f fiiting tiie workers haw, practically speak- * r ing, boon nil, and the results of this year do 1 not bear any better prospects of benefiting 3 those in whoso interest the conference in , 9 1 held. It will erer be so until the worker* . have their own special representatives in . ! Parliament to enforce their requirements. r 1 The keeping of the unemployed book as t directed by the Court, of Arbitration by the 3 unions who have been granted the prefer--1 ence clause is a. source of irritation. All 1 1 unionists out of employment are required to 3 enter their name and address in the book, . and on obtaining employment' are required to enter into the l>ook the name and . ad- *, dress of the employer by whom they are en- ! gaged. This must be done by the worker himself. The mere scratching ofF of the , 3 name is insufficient. The consequence is j that, in many instances the men are forced to lose an hour, or perhaps a half-day, and j in several instances the chanace of employ- . ment, as the employer could not wait while the conditions of Ihe award were being comr plied with in this rospeet. It should be sufficient that all t-itoHO who are out of employment entered' their names daily g in the book, and if a day passed without the ' name lwirig entered, the worker should be ' considered as having found employment. It is not too much trouble for one Ito requires employment to do this, arid this would pre- . I vent any loss of time to master and man.