ARBITRATION COURT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13202, 13 June 1906, Page 9

ARBITRATION COURT.

THE SADDLERS' UNION CASE. i ■■?' "' •'" : ": ; T; - . : ' :' "• ' WAGES IN BAGMAKING TRADE. i! - The Auckland sittings of the Arbitration Court were resumed yesterday, before His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman (president), and Messrs. Brown and Slater. The hearing of the dispute between the Auckland Saddlers, '' ; Harnessmakcrs, Collarmakers, and Bridle* cutters' Industrial Union of Workers and the , master saddler.? of Auckland district was • ' continued. • ' - ' William Hawkins, president of the union, said he hud been away from Wiseman and 00. for 10 months, and had been working on the wharf. He had not tried to obtain work from the saddlery shops in the meantime.

rj, * . - , Mr. Love: Why didn t —Because I did not think it worth while, becausc of my position in the union. ■* Tc Mi. Love:, He would have the men do the stitching and seaming themselves instead of the females. - - Mr. Way: Now with regard to these females. What becomes of the females at a certain age? Witness: When they get to a certain age they generally get married and drop out * -of the business altogether. (Laughter.) ■ ■ Mi. A. Graham (secretary of the union) . said a good den) more work, was now * re- [ 1 quired than formerly. From his position he knew as a fact that, the bulk of . incompetent workmen who applied for permits came ; from wholesale factories where females were employed. , Bagmaking required as much,l . 'skill as any other department of saddlery. .< The wages for bagmaking were very small. " ." John B. Kelly, a saddle hand, employed by ' Orniiston and Co., said he had bean receiving £2 15s per week. He was convinced the. trade .could now pay Is 3d per hour. He had not seen one, boy turned out a proficient workman during the last 10 years. To Mr. Way: A great deal of Auckland saddlery was exported to the South',: in fact Auckland largely depended on the South. • To His Honor: Thsre may be a. few inf competent workmen out of employment in I ' ■ Auckland. * ' Thomas Dickson, a general hand, agreed with the other witnesses.' . Mr. Way: Do you think..in the interest of. the trade it would be better to abolish the female stitchers? Witness: Certainly. Mr. -Way: We have letters from the . s South complaining .that the Auckland goods sent there are 'competing with their work. . His Honor: You don't object to these goods being sent from Auckland? ' You don't want to get rid of that trade? ' ' , Mi. Way: The point is this. Nowhere in the colony are these female stitchers em- , ' ployed,, except in Auckland, and if it is al- . lowed to continue thev will employ them in the South. v .■ Basil Hawkins, a portmanteau rnakei, said lie was receiving 25s per week, although 24- years of age. \ f Mr. Brown : You say you are a competent workman and you cannot get more than 25s . , psr week. . Mr. Way: The trade is so cut here. They are practically working on such wages right through. . • , Witness said he knew of men who had served theii apprenticeship to bagmaking, and were only earning 12s v and 16s per week. ,■ --Mr. Way: The wages progress ; down* < wards from £2 10s, but there are very few men getting that. . His Honor: If some get £2 10s how comes ... it. that this man is only getting2ss a week? 1 He would be better as a labourer. Mr. Way: Men learn a trade, and generally stirik to it. That is the trouble. ' '• His Honor: Is .it a trade where; a woman would be more,suitable than a man? Witness: No. It is a man's trade. r Mr. Brown: Do they only pay 25s per •v" ■ ■ week? ' ■ " ' .. ". ■■ ' . . Mr., Way: We have the evidence -here. , Mr. Brown It seems incomprehensible to "me. i f . James Henry, Meehan. bagmaker, said he earned £2, 8s pei week.' Bagmaking required as much \ skill as saddlery, and: was fully worth Is 2d per hour.. .. • .Arthur Kawlinson, bag, trunk, and port- '; - » manteaumaker, give corroborative evidence. . , Alfred Saintey, general hand ,in light htnjess work, said there were 110 female ■ stitchers where witness was em played, and ' he generally did that work. Females could net do, the work as well as a man. This was the ease for the union. v j "r ' ;'.Q«Xgfc Wright. Contain, sail,' tent, and ' . eovcrmaker, called by Mr. E. Le Roy, said he had had constant;' employment t with Mr. - t Le Roy and received 55s per week and was paid for all - general . holidays. The average wage was 57s 4d per week*. He had never seen girls employed on liorsecovers. Witness did not consider an award could improve his position. CASE -FOR . THE EMPLOYERS. y Mr. Knight, in opening, the case for the j masters, said Auckland was .recognised in New Zealand as the home of saddlery manut factisre. . Girls had been employed in the trade for many years, and if it was not for the -fact that girls were employed it would be impossible to compete with the imported article. At the present time goods imported . . from Sydney , were selling in Queen-street cheaper than the local article "could bo made for. Since'the last increase in wages Auck--1 land had in a large measure lost the trade with the Islands, the; Southern,, manufac- ; • turers supplanting them. The masters had always recognised men who were above the ■ .'average, and men were earning' from £2 " •• 10s to £2 153 -per week. One apprentice to * three journeymen was not sufficient. . In the present condition of the tradi they could

not see their way to pay increased'rates. A lad .at the end of . five years w?c not compe- . tent if he was expected to learn the whole trade, and was therefore, not . capable of earning 40s per week. The proportion of i;- ..; - . apprentices in the saddle branch might be '• .. fixed at one to ©very two or fraction of two ;v journeymen, in' the machinery b?/vach one J , .to every tIiK«, in the harness hrnn'}i one to - ' ' one or two apprentices to thrc-? journey-I;-men, in the collar, bridlecu-.tin $, and bag ! and trunk '.-.ranch on" apprentice to each j ■ journeyman. The proportion of female ,i stitchers should not exceed one to every w.i'. -iV . two journeymen or fraction of two, and feI'■/>".v x male machinists one to three journeymen. William Morgan, master saddler, of Aew- ■ market, said he, had had -10 to 12 appren- ; tices, and at the end of fiv» years he had never found any apprentice competent. 'It i;:"': . was not possible for an apprentice to ao- > • qniro'the necessary knowledge in retail shops f > )'■■■ in five years. The trade tit present could I**s not bear the increase to Is 3d per hour. A,yi i 1 James Robertson, master saddler, of Kara* ' ngaljape Road, said a fair minimum wage wits lid per hour. He paid £2 10s per week, j'n reply to Mr. Way, witnsss said Is 3d per j hour was too much for a thoroughly compel ; tent man. ' ' . . . ■. | Evidence of a similar nature was given by I, Robert Henry Crudge, master saddler, j Symonds-street; James Mackay, master sad- , dler, Albert-street, (who added that £2 10s was a fair minimum wage for competent 2': journeymen). _ |-:r ; James dickering "Lyndon /foreman at | - . Wiseman and SonV* »aid that too boys could learn stitching whom females were employer], One shilling per hour was a fair inini- ! ilium waR«; £3 •*}»&. the biahc;*- .wage paid , 10 any journeyman in his department, and • Iff; 3d per hour had b>vii paid {or first-class saddle hands. r; Henry lloberd, baginaker, said girls were . : as '.competent as men or boys to make bags. : A 'nian who could only make one variety of | : bag was, not worth more than £2 2s. The bagmaking trade in Auckland could not exist if jjirls were not employed, for the imported - articles had already "knocked out " about ■Vv.. half of thote formerly employed. The Court then adjourned till this morning. The evidence will be concluded early ■• • to-day, and the carters' dispute will imme- i . • diatoly be taken. ~