WORLD OF WORK

NZ Truth, Issue 471, 27 June 1914, Page 2

WORLD OF WORK

— Pithy Points for Proletarian Plugs— ■ — . BY " HONESTAS.* „ "..,." ~.

Oh, W8 are the unotuous, bumptious crowd, Who howl tho Prophets down, While our plaudits ring both loud and long , ' To greet the tricks of the clown. But soon the night will give place to light, Wo» then for the tyrants, woe, There's a debt they'll pay on tho Judg ment Day When 4ho Workers got to know. ..

During the week a conference of Trades Union delegates has been meeting at the Trades Hall, "Wellington, for the purpose of discussing the q*ues- ' tion o^ the Increased Cofet of Living, the purchasing power of wages. tllß standard -of existence and other cognate subjects. At' the timo of writing these notes, "Honestas" has no -knowledge of what is. likely to transpire at the conference, but It is to bo hopad that some delegate well versed m economics wili\hew to the lino neediest where the chips may . fall, and poiijt out to. his brethren the truo inwardness of tho Iron Law of Wages, not as the. old economists enunciated, it, but as it has been raado plain m Marx's writings. The standard of living at which a people will consent to toil— to, produce wealth and propagate the species^ — determines., the average wage i which will be disbursed by the exploiters .of tho workman's skill and energy. [ Progress to tho worker, therefore, is not to bo measured by the amount of pounds, shillings and pence ho receives after" certain periods of labor, but what standard of comfort can such return fpr his toil ensure. A clear . statoraent '.' of this economic truth Is much needed at such v gathering, and would bo of unbounded benefit to many of tho delegates by leading their minds into proper'channels of inquiry and study, .' • . • ■•' • In relation to the foregoing, tho .following excerpt from tho London Labor paper, the "Dally Herald." is apropos. Tho new budget Of Lloyd Gcorgo 18 held by superstitious persons to bo something that will make tho Fatman sit up by reason of the fact that it touches him In his pocket The "Herald" blows the gaff on this m an excellent skit, wheroln it depicts a meetIng of the Board of British Employers: — ' ■ • The chairman (lop.): I have to report, further, that Mr. Lloyd George has sot aside ,£174,000 19a ?d for the provision of teething rings for the little babies of tho poor, (Cheers.) In the past, gentlemen, as you know, our employees have suffered tho privation of having to pay for this necessity out of the wages we pay them. It is now no longer necessary for us to provide for this expense We, therefore, propose to out down our wages bill by £174 19s 7d. . . . Director (Interrupting); But, sir, did we not cut down our wages some years ago m Intelligent anticipation of the great forces of''social reform taking tHis "counter action? '- ; •""■•'■*■■■' • ' • ■ : Chairtnan (severely): Possibly, < irfp.'possibly. 'In whleh ease I trust we aro jus lifted j as business men, m anticipating a tlko- happy result from this further proposed reduction. (Cheors.) '

"And befeauso of her Importunity, etc," So did tho Carpenter lllufltrato his parablo whieii had for Its burden the spirit, if not tho letter, of tho song, "Try. try, try again." Mr. R. A. Simpson, secretary of tho Wellington Storemon's Union, haa evidently assimilated both tho song and tho parable, much to tho benefit of several members of his organisation, the fllflcomntura of Messrs. Gibbons and Company, Limited, and the placing of a oortaln ofnclal of the Labor Departmont In what may mildly bo termed a very Invidious position. Tho facts of the case are as follow: Last December, Socrotary Simpson wroto to the Labor Department complaining that Gibbons axul Co. hud not complied with tho terms* ot tho Storeraen's Award, and wore working certain of their employees longer hours and paying less wages than tho Arbitration Court had ordered. After a month's Interval, Secretary Simpson received the following roply from tho Labor Department: — R. A. Simpson, Secretary. Wellington Storomen'B Union. Dear Sir, — I have to reply to your letter of the 15th ultimo ro tho matter of employment of ntoroinon at Messrs. Gibbons and Company,, seed merchants, Lambtonquay. An Inspector has gone carefully into this complaint, and is of opinion that tho workers employed , at tho place roferre<l to are ahoparalsianta and mibjcct to tho hours of work as provided by tho Shops and 'Oftlcos Act You will nota that Clauno 1 (b) of your award makes special provision for suc'u cases. Youxa faithfully, "SV. l\, Haggor, Deputy Chief Inspector. January 12. 19H. This seemed to settlo tho question, and Me&srs. Gibbons and Co., Ltd., no doubt, tfiM safe, ,-md chuckled, selfwtUsned, to -thcmselvcH at the success of their little (rick, which was to see that none of thoh 1 e^jployeoa u-ero ongaged exclusively oh storumon's dvUo«, ihvis atrninlnp almont to tho very breaking point flaunt i (b) quotwl by tho Deputy Chl*>f Inspector of Factories. In his letter. * « • Hut "he laughs lon/rest who laughs •' la};t." Mr. 11. A. Slmpnon apparently afikly jiceoptcil the IncvlUibli*. and let the matter drop. Tho l_ibor Department d^ly went to nlwp ajrnln and forgot nil about hla coiupl.-iint against tho (iibbomi Company for br<-.'jch of awnrd. After Irtpno of six months. tf»o jw»r«lflu«ftt Slmi>»on rtKiiirt r«porle<l Gibbons Company, Limited, for tho uelf-Rame broach, but made no mention of having done so at the clo»» of 1913, nor Of the unfavorable outcome of that charge. l^ust Baturdny tho Htoramon'H ftondy-i. aired tiecrouu-y rocolve<l ihe following imi tin-factory (to the Storemen) reply from the 1-ibor Dopart mont I'll. A. Blmpson. Secretary Wellington Sloremen's Union.' Dc.tr Sir,— ln reference to your complaint re br«Ache« of award by M«onni. ClUbonn and Company, Ltd., with r«npc«l to tho bourn worked by Moreroen, etc., an effort wu made to complete tho Inquiry by the date mentioned In your letter, but w« w«?r« unnble to do no In lime to Jiltow of your rot>orUn«; HiiM* to your mwtlng. \v« rind, on »nve«tlir»Uon,- th»t thin rtnn haa now nrrang^d for a number of <?m---ploym to work solely In ihe war*. ho»UM> jiortlon of the building.' That being »o. these men will come under tho operation of. >*our award.

It was found that several of them,,had worked more than the. hours .'«• prescribed m the award, and tho flrni win be called upon to make - good the amounts short paid. Tlia - v firm has also . been advised that proceedings will bo takon against them should a similar offenco occur. Yours faithfully, w! h: Hagger, Deputy Chief Inspector. ' ; June 19, 1914. ; It would bo Interesting to know when this seed- (don't make it "seedy." Mr. Printer), firm , . C. Arranged for a number of thoir employees to work solely m the :.*. warohouse portion 1 of the building. If they have only now made the "or T rangoment," how can there have been any workers "short paid" imder ti©\ Storemen's Award, since that : iwartT did not apply? "Honestas" is waifing to hear the Deputy Chief Inspector.^ of Factories 1 explanation of the different attitudes taken up by his" Dop^rrtmont m Juno and January; Cfoofiy there's a screw loose somewhere, and owing to its looseness several employ-, . ees of Gibbons and Co*, have been mulcted of a portion of their wages and their daily hours of. leisure for OVOr six months. "Honestas"' supposes this can stand as another examplo of si Square Deal! ■'"■•• • "-••■•; ■ ■ »•->: .v <-xz The London Building. Trades <stViko, of which we have had a surfeit, .•from the employers* point of view. It** the-' cable columns of tho Pluto press, has boon well waged, by the heroes &ad heroines, who have nobly stood a most trying test It is one m which the very baaio principle of Trades Unionism &*:& at stoke. The men wore ordered WtX sign a disgraceful covenant which,.hs4^. they done so, would 'have reduced^ i them- to the level of creeping' things.' '" ; This is the document:-? , i, • < rty , | I agree, if employed by you. to peacefully worK with, .my follow™ omployoos (engaged either ti\ybur direct employment' or of ihat of any other sub -contractor), whetherthey are members of a .tradq. society or not, and I agree that I will not quit your employment because* any of my fellow-omployees is or 1b not a member of any trade so-— ■ ciety, and I also agree, that If I commit any broach of this agree * t / ment, I shall be liable to a fine of twenty shillings, and I agreo that a the amount of sujoh flno shall bo-, deducted from any wages that may bo duo to me. \ . '" :; -.< ■■ -/. Then* as It that wcro hot enough to"? drivovtt man to commit despcratoo&ctsV.> tho following was • rubbed 'along his olfactory v'rg<u»-~ , ;•■-. ;.«;■* All workmen employed drr Jon uV< f; ary 24, 1014, will bo required 'to •'■'■' sign tho above undertaking m th'oT- •"'« prcscnoo of the foreman or tlmo'-<"~* keopcV.at or before 11 a.m. on thatv - day, and any workman failing to I ■■»<•■'» do this will be dcomod to httvo;:.f given an hour's notico to torminato-%.»' his engajjomont' at 12 o'clock on *"* that day. ■".■■ aA . •> Not workers, but worms, had thfiy" been, to submit to such Indignity! Api-* •* porcntly it Is not suflieloht for th'o'Ber^ rUlsn Fluto push tlmt tlioy should grind to poverty with misorablo wages t tho men who create their wealth, but"' he would own thorn as his vory > g\>o<fi'' and chattel. Hence tho strlko m tho London building trade, which has cost ' so much, and which has had the heart- ? folt sympathy of tho public ever sinco tho men proved tbomsolvos to bo m*a.> and rofused to bo dirt No wonder that tho Smm||jni.tlon Dopariments of Can-*' adii, Australia and New Zealand aroidoing a roaring trado In boy«. Truo parents do not wish their sons to grow up m a land which will soon not be worth living 1n. ...,....■,.

A feather shows how the wlhfi' blown. .JBoforo* tho Govornmont begun to bring m domestics at -A^ che&p rote In order to koop tho wive* of tho Idlo rioh. and tho w.ould-Do gontry of God's, Own from going hungry or becoming flHhy, a few of tfie former In tho Dominion wero caught with' the bait "Lady Help--Wanted." After aoveral shipload* of immigrant domestics found tjwlr way Into the Dominion tho n«o^y,. wealthy becamo lens conaideratjj of the feelings of their le«» fortuity',., sisters and went back to tho use .of .„, tho old world phniaen, "maid 8«r- v> vanl," "parlor maid, 1 ' otc. Tho,ath?r day Mr. Mtumcy Bald Uio supplying,, of servant girls would In future, b* - % left In tho hands of thn Saiv- Array,. V and now tho phraseology of iho nd- . vert, hue ngaln changed. Hero is ih9 4 latest form from tho "Bruco Herald": WANTED, at once. J'l-TTtSON to apHlul In Home—Miss Dutton. Stirling. When tlio FJooih brigade hni» placed a surplus ,of femalo domestic worker* on iho Dominion Labor nw«rk«t wo will havo a further ehunite, In It* next, stage thn advert, probably, , will take tho following form: WANTED, Immediately a VlsMALE MENIAL to do all homework «n<l other drudgery. Apply. fIC. This recall* to lf Hone*t»*'fl" memory Ihfit the old Wellington Dnin^*Uc.Servants' Union u«etl to ln«»«t on the term "lady help" Iniuead of "nervnnt, no remembers one plm« p»P*r l*>i«*ln« out by W »t rd>ukc ih*« th^ Mfth<**e State and Church dignltartM* wero proud to «l»rn ihenw»v*»»» "servant" In gmte and ecclesiastical dwijnwnw reepvoilvdy. Hut hIKU »n»ee hotdr>r« have nearly alwivyw menial noul*. lh« word "servanr «* * relic of feudal time*, when everyone wn* cither > «. ma«ter or » menlnl. '