WORK AND WAGES IN 1911.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14933, 5 March 1912, Page 10

WORK AND WAGES IN 1911.

A YEAR OF STRIKES. 10,250.000 DAYS LOST. STRIKING testimony to tho widespread character of the industrial unrest, which prevailed throughout the United Kingdom last year, and bids fair to bo an equally prominent feature of 1912, is provided in tho instructive review of employment, wage*, food prices, and trade disputes during the past 12 months, published in the current issue of tho Board of Trade labour Gazette. Generally, it is stated that, although work was plentiful, this favourable condition was to some extent discounted by the Labour troubles; that tho rise in the cost of .many articles of food, -which has been in progress for eomo years, -was for a time accentuated by the summer drought, and that the upward movement of wages 'has not yet become very marked. As regards wages, it is stated that the slight upward - movement which began in 1910 was, on the whole, maintained. The net effect of all the changes reported was an increase' of .£25,927 per week in. tho wages of 825,204 workpeople. Of these, 416,191 received a net increase of £37,664 per week, and 399.216 sustained a net decrease of £11,737 per week, whilst the remaining' 9797 had upward and downward changes, which left their wages at - the game, level at the end as at the beginning of tho year. With tho exception of coal mining and pig iron manufacture, every group of trades showed a net increase, tho largest occurring in tho engineering and shipbuilding and transport trades. During 1911 there were no fewer than 864 trade disputes, causing a stoppage of work, and involving, directly or indirectly, 931,050 workers. Including 27 disputes which began in previous years, the aggregate duration of all labour troubles in 1911 amounted to 10,250,000 working days.

The stoppages wero greatly in excess of the average of the 10 previous years, while the- number of workpeople involved was the highest recorded in the statistics of the Department. This last is due mainly 10 the series of great disputes in the transport trades involving (1) about 110,000 seamen, dock labourers, eta., at the principal ports (2) 77,000 carters, dock labourers, etc., in London; (3) 48,000 dock labourers and other transport workers at Liverpool; and (4) about 140,000 workers on the principal railways. The total has been further increased by the dispute in the cotton trade, involving about 150,000 workpeople, which began on December 28, and is still in progress.

Fortunately,, the majority of tho great disputes of the year were of comparatively short duration, with the result that, although the number of days lost exceeded the High figure recorded in 1910, it was lower than in other years of great industrial disturbance, such as 1893, 1897, 1898, and 1908. Nevertheless, the loss was (sufficiently serious. It as computed that the number of workers affected by the year's disputes amounted to about nine per cent, of the total industrial population of the United Kingdom, excluding agricultural labourers, and that the amount of time lost represented about one working day per head of this population. • The high level of wholesale prices, which has been a feature of recent years, continued during 1911, and the Board of Trade index number, based chiefly on import and export average values, rose to 109.3, the highest recorded since. 1884. This figuro as an increase of 0.6 per cent, on that of the previous year, and of 5.1 per cent, on that of 1909. Tho average level of wholesale prices of food and drink (including tobacco) increased by 2.5 per cent., as compared with 1910. The general level of prices of these articles was, however, 11.7 per cent, higher than in 1900. Retail prices of food showed, on the whole, a decline of 0.5 per cent, on those obtaining in 1910. As compared with 1900, however, there was an advance of rather more than nine percent. For the first nine months of the year the general level of retail prices was below that for the corresponding period of 1909, and also that of 1908. In the last quarter, however, prices advanced considerably (partly owing to the long drought in the summer), and in December were tliree per cent. above the prices ruling in December, 1910. Among the principal articles showing an increaso in 1911 were potatoes (23.6 per cent.), currants (19.8), raisins (15.7), tapioca (10,3), and rice (7.0 per cent). Towards tho end of the year, however, there was a fail in the prices of potatoes and currants. Tho principal articles showing a decline in price were bread (9.1 per cent.), bacon (7.3 per cent.), and oatmeal (3.7 per cent.).