STRIKE RECORD

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11187, 18 April 1922, Page 5

STRIKE RECORD

YEARLY WAGE LOSSES. OVER £90,000 LAST YEAR. In the early days of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, an enthusiastic visitor who came to observe its operation referred to New Zealand as “a country without strikes.” Experience has shown that conciliation methods have nor altogether stopped strike troubles. The record of industrial disturbances for 1921 shows that there were 77 "outbreaks, only two—coal mining and cargo working—being important. These two industries had 9676 workers idle at some period during tiic year owing to strikes, the total number of workers affected in all dispates lieing 10.433. The average duration of trouble was slightly under ten days, and tho total wage losses amounted to £90,332. The previous year’s losses in wages through strikes was £10,423, so that it is evident that the diffiruitic* of tho economic position became reflected in the labour situation of last year. When times were booming, increases in ppy. especially on the waterfront, in tne handling of products carrying a high price, were granted, but the pinch has come, and witii it some increasing friction in the lndustria* sphere, in 1920 the wage losses through strikes in the mining industry amounted to more than three-quarters of tho whole sum. Lhe 1929 striko figures were unusually large for New Zealand owing to the fact that such a large proportion of tile railway staff went off duty for a few days. Last year’s total of over ten thousand men affected by strikes was, however, the record sinw 1913, when the waterside dispute sent the total of men affected during that year ro 13,400.