ARBITRATION COURT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13191, 31 May 1906, Page 7

ARBITRATION COURT.

3 . THE CLOTHING TRADE.. c~. ' . - APPLICATION FROM THE SOUTH. ■< THE CASE COMPLETED. The bearing of the application to extend an ' award given in the clothing trade in the Southern industrial districts to the Northern •industrial district was continued for tiro third day at the Arbitration Court yesterday. " ; The application was made by the New Zea- ;• land Clothing Manufacturers' Association, ■ir together with tho New Zealand Federated ">; Tailoresses, and was opposed by tho Auckland Clothing Manufacturers' and the AuckUi ■ land Tailoresses' Unions. i| Messrs.. W. ,Scott (Dunedin), 1. Hercus ', : C, (Christchurch), and Chippe. (Wellington) ':•' appeared for the New Zealand Manufacturers' Association; Mi. Hood (Dunedin) tor *. the Federated Tailoresses' Union; Messrs. ; F. H. Teniplor, \V Jaggs, and F. M. King K for the Auckland Industrial Union of Em-. U,' ployers;, and Mr. A. Kosser for the Auckland Tailoresses'. Union.. ', William Jaggs, manager for the factory i' of Mftcfcj, Logan, Steen, and Co., Ltd., said that the suit produced was sent from Wel- ; , lington to see if his factory -joulcl make a similar one at the same price They could , not. make it. for anything like, .th© price. The weekly wage system would have a tendency to sweating. He had never taken ;' mors than 12 months to teach a girl to make :i a coat; waistcoat, and trousers. Ho had " taught girls in six months. The Southern system was an injustice to a girl learning her trade.. """ '""";■ His. Honor: Did you hear th© Southern representatives say that since the new award there had been no reduction in wages, and in many instances it meant a rise? Witness \ .yes; but. that would apply,, to fully competent hands, and I air* speaking of apprentices. Mr.Brown: I understood the Southern representatives were speaking of all-round classes. * The witness stated that girls would only * receive tho minimum wage, and consequently would not have the opportunity of getting ** full value of their work. His Honor: Do you mean to say that you are speaking to experienced men now'/ You read those things in books. Under cross-examination by Mr. Ross the witness said lie did not think that every girl who had served 12 months in his factory received 25s a week on piecework. Hundreds' " of girls who had come out of their 12 months' apprenticeship had earned £1 to £1 8s under the piecework system. Mr. Scott: The Southern manufacturers are complaining very bitterly of having to jump their girls from 10s to 17s 6d; you would consider that no hardship? . Witness: No, not if the girl had been properly taught her trade. ' Mr. Scott: You would increase your girls from 10s to 25s?— Mr. Scott Well, all I can say is it is an f , amazing piece of evidence. - , '~.' Mr. Rosser: You always -have to learn - when you come to Auckland. (Laughter.) Mr. Scott: What authority have you for saying that the Southern manufacturers are ';':'} paying.only 25s a weeik to girls? Witness:,! am relying upon the evidence in Court. * • His Honor: I have seen no such evidence. Really, you must give us credit for a little common* sense. ... His Honor read the statement referred to, nd showed that the wages went up to over 30s and with few exceptions over 255, \ The Witness: I stand corrected. I did . not hear the words and over" read after the figures. "Mr. Scott: You withdraw the ; statement that Weekly, wages are an injustice to the '.' ~ girls? ". :' ■ • Witness: Yes. . ~..■ Continuing, witness said that -when they had.changed In the factory from'weekly, wages to piecework they had dispensed with ■ ten hinds, but had still don© as much work with the decreased number of workers. The bands had also received better wages, °y The witness objected .to giving publicity to the exact cost to his firm of.cutting, trimming, and machining. He would be, however, willing to give it to the Court privately. His Honor The trouble is that these state- . ments are generally imperfect. Witness, continuing,' said that under the Auckland system the--first-class wage was 25s,,second-class 2Qs, and third-class 15s. The • employer ..was the judge, as to whether a girl was a first, second, or third»class worker. Ho considered a fair . minimum wage for a competent tailoress in a factory was £1. * Gilbert Ferguson, inspector of factories and awards, said that he had been stationed in Auckland for 14 or 15 years. In his offi- , cial capacity he had not had much trouble with the clothina trade in factories. When ' .'' points were in dispute about the prices he had attended a conference between th© employer and workers, and disputes had been amicably settled.v . His Honor intimated that it was their in-. tention to ask for returns from both partios at a later date. .The Court would supply an order showing what returns were required. Mr. A. Rosser addressed the Court. He thought - .that the application had •' been '~" tlwroughly threshed out before the Court. "■ In order to £?t what they wanted he thought tho Southerners would "have to prove that the rhffnufacfcurers in the South had been inv. ■• jured by Auckland operations, and that the workers were being underpaid in Auckland. This he submitted bad not been established. He referred to the suit produced'on which evidence had been given with a view to show-' > ing that ''t could not bo made in Auckland for the same price. His Honor paid neither side had been able " V .to show how it was arrived at. There was 1 no evidence that labour wfes cheaper in Wellington than in Auckland. Continuing, Mr. Rosser said that the unfair competition was in favour of the Southern firms. The workers in the Northern industrial district'did not want a change, for the best of arrangements existed between v employer and employee. His experience :., was- that the girls had good employers, and any difference's were amicably arranged between them. He had a standing invitation ■' ■ from the warehouse employers allowing him to see any of the girls to talk'to them of unionism. ' That he- also thought showed how the employers treated'; them in .the North. The girls were not underpaid, or they would complain. Mr. Slater: Do you say they are better ■ paid in tho South? Mr. Rosser: I don't know how they are paid. There is one thing that cannot, ba stifled, and that is the cry of the underpaid. His Honor: You heard the statement of the Southern representatives that no girl had been reduced? ■ ' Mr. Rosser: Mr. Hcod did not say how many girls • had to clear out to save r reduction. . -. -. Continuing, Mr.. Rosser said that undo' the weekly wage system tho girl was t':r<;ol to keep at it 'whether she felt well enough or not, and would be under espionage. 'He hoped the Court would leave them alone to work out their own salvation. They had never had a lockout in Auckland. The Southerners were a ; strong combination. This combination that was being " ruined" In the Smith had between them managed to have lockouts, and then they came North " showing a David-and-Jonathan-like affection for each other before th© Northern people." He expressed the hope that this " love surpassing a brother's" would continue wh"ii they not bach to the, colder climes of Dunedin and tho South. Mr. Rosser also stated that he yielded to no one in his efforts to build up Auckland's industries. They had started a Provincial Industrial Association to foster local industries, and experts had promised to address them on tho most vital Questions. He asked the Court to leave them alone and allow them to build up their local industries. Mr. F. Mr King opposed the application. Hft submitted that the evidence had not- : tablished unfair competition on Auckland's side. It could not bo said that the conditions of workers in Auckland were worse than those in tho South. It would be far better for the Court to issue an edict that no clothing should be made in the Auckland province than to slowly' strangle a business to death by imposing .conditions unsatisfactory to both employer and employee. Mr. Scott said that had not the two previous speakers been in ignorance of the existing conditions ,in the South , they would not have spoken as they had. He had yet to learn that injury could be done- to employer or emplovee if they were all put ¥v 'on "uniform conditions. He was sure no 111jiutice could.-follow. There was'no'doubt 'thiit on the waee system th* workers re. / cejved a rise. They had heard a lot of the . So l them manufacturers: com net in? in • the Northern industrial district. They, however, > foiigot that until a few years ago the whole trudc had.been done from Dunedin, and it . was for Auckland to wrest this from older firms such as the Katapoi Clothing Company. It was news to the Southern representatives .■'■'.;':':' . to hear that work could be done cheaper in ',"•■■ ■ the South than in Auckland. Neither the/ log nor the time wages showed it. and the 4 Northern representatives had failed to bring ; f a tittle of evidence to 'establish if. ".': The Auckland log was not a. log; it only had' 150 item's on it. while .to complete it there • ;,vj should be over 1000 items on it. I fffi©;;*>' .: - :.'•' '■■'.' ,' '■'. ■ :>' '.'•■ V'/.V, ' ' '«'■■•- /-'■ , ,y'~:.'

Mr. Templer: We do not want the South to tell us what we want. Continuing, Mr. Scott said tlier© had only been one or two breaches in the South in many years. There were harmonious relations amongst them. There certainly had been & difference of opinion as to underrating of. workers, but there had not been a lockout. His Honor: A lockout is an offence. One can't help knowing that the Government inquired into the difference referred to. but he did not know what the report was. Mr. Scott: No, it was not a lookout, i , Continuing, Mr. Scott said that there , would bo no peace until th© time when uni- ( form conditions existed throughout the colony. There should be a federated body 1 of employers and a federated body of cm- ■ ployees, and by granting the application it . "would put North and South on a level footing. • - , ' Mr. Hood, in his address, said that ho could not think that things worked so harmoniously under the existing- conditions in Auckland. Ho had never known of workers expressing dissatisfaction at the wages under , the new award. He had never heard of ono ' case of reduction tinde: the award, but knew of many instances where wages had been raised. He asked the Court to abolish ths log systems supposed to bo existing in Auckland. He hoped the Court would extend the award to Auckland, and. said both employers ' and employees would benefit. His Honor gave the parties an idea of the information that they intended ordering both parties to supplv to the Court. He said that they would have to supply a list containing the wages of all the employees ' 'extending ovei the past four years, with the object of making of wages paid i in the South and the North. | . Tho Court's decision was reserved. I The hearing of the Auckland tailors' dispute will be resumed at half-past ten this morning. ...