BOOTMAKERS AND MANUFACTURERS

NZ Truth, Issue 569, 13 May 1916, Page 6

BOOTMAKERS AND MANUFACTURERS

UNIONISTS SEEK INCREASED RATES

EMPLOYERS DEMAND DILUTION OF LABOR

Case Before the Arbitration Court

On Tuesday and Thursday) of last week the ' Arbitration Court was engaged In hearing the argumente^pro. and con., m connection with the Wellington -Bootmakers' dispute. Mr. I Justice Stringer sat m tho box seat, being supported right and left by Messrs.^W. Scott (employers' rep^ and Jack MoCullough (plugs' rep.) respectively. Mr. J. A. Frostick was spruiker on behalf of self and feUow-employers, while Jack Hutchison acted as shouter for the union.- - ■ ' •'■ ■'.-."..■.-- :|" : ; ■ ; v^Mr. J. Hutchison opened fire, on the employers' breastworks by emphasising the fact that tho Empire at the present moment was as /! : DEPENDENT ON BOO^S i. OB it was on bullets, bayonets or| bombs. It was his "instruction" to askffor two awards — ono for male and one for female labor. Obviously New Zealand unionism has some distance t& travel yet before it would demand that labor Bhould be classed for the purpose of "paying wages," the same ;.as its products are classed for ''trading purposes"— on tho value <}t the thing produced, and not because, ol tho hex of the producer. Jack said it had been agreed between all the parties to tho dispute that whateverj terras •were agreed upon and ratified ;i by tho Court should govern the industry throughout tbo Dominion. In 1907 the Federation aucceeded m getting Parliament's sanction, to an increase", of tho protective tariff believing that the employers would agree to- a substantial increase m wages on the expiry of the currency of the then existing award. They had given their bosses credit for fair-mindedness which they did not posuess, and In 1909 tho employers forced them into court. Tho employees then claimed that the increased^ profits (attributable to tho increased tariff)

should be divided between operatives and manufacturers. But the Court thought otherwise, and fixed a minimum wage of 1/- per hour for 45 hours' work. ; The passing of the Footwear Regulations Act m 1913 preventing 1 the importation of unbranded "shoddy" gave further assistance to the profitmaklng side of the industry, equal to an increased tariff of 20 per cent, with the result that imports for the year fell by £31,193. During the last twenty years, continued Mr, Hutchison, the wonderful forces of labor-saving machinery had gradually REVOLUTIONISED THE SHOE INDUSTRY, ; which to-day was the equal of any similar Industry m any other part of the world. Having reached that stage of efficiency, they were asking the Court to allocate their share of the profits accruing from this source. It had been claimed .that "piece-work" had been abolished, but this was only so m name. True, an hourly wage as fixed by th© Court, was inpperatton, but the employers, without consulting the workers, fixed an hourly task on the piece-work principle, and dismissal followed failure,to fulfil the same. Each machine, human as well as mechanical, was worked at its maximum, the increased strain wearing the operative out quicker, and, therefore, he ought to receive increased remuneration. After pointing out that the old craft bookmaker was extinct, that division of labor on the factory system led to many pairs of hands being employed m making one pair of boots, that, despite this sub-division, the knowledge of machinery which an operative must possess ■■■still claimed the industry 'as one of the highly skilled. Mr. Hutchison dealt exhaustively with the effect of increased tariff on the employers' proMs, proving out- of the mouth of their own advocate that his claims were facts and no mere assertions, and scored j heavily by pointing, out that although the manufacturers declared that importations were iuimlcal to the local industry the largest manufacturers happened to be also the largest importers. Consequently, they wore, broadly speaking, the enemies of an Industry that (he public of New Zealand paid high duties to encourage. He asked the Court to utterly disregard opposition from importers who "to all intents and purposes were merely cogs m the wheels of progression of tho local boot industry." Mr. Hutchison declared that the Boot Factory Operatives' federation was satisfied that the conditions contained In the agreement arrived at by tlie Conciliation, Council were workable. Ho was claiming a minimum of 1/6 per hour for males, and 35/- per week as the- minimum for females. With the exception of Auckland, employers were paying close upon that rate already. This was an admission by euch employers that the boot operatives' commercial value was much higher than tho present minimum- indicated. He pointed out that the- female operatives had , NOT RECEIVED ANY INCREASE for six years, while the males had received nn increase ot 7/c per week tfurthormoro. before beius entitled to tho full female minimum, girls had to servo flvo years— and 76 per cent, of the tomato labor wa« performed by girls receiving less than tho qualified operatives' minimum w»ee. Ho asked tho Court to note that tho majority of these girls never remained long enough m a factory to qualify for tho "minimum." This showed that they could do better m other Industrie*, consequently now 1 girls were always coming In, and n» these had to bo taught, and It was some, lime before they were as efficient as thoiio who had loft tho output of the whole factory was affected. Employers ought, to aoo that oven from their own standpoint low wage** to girls was a penny- wlso-and-pound-foollsh policy. For fc'lrlu omployed on wax-thread machines £i 6/- per week was asked. This was exceptionally heavy work, as wfw» recosrn)flo<l m tho present award, tho weekly wago being 7/6 above those for light machining. The union oskod that tho currency of th<* award -should bo for two, years, and that It bo antidated, no as Ho come In force on January 1, 191 C. the employees having euf- ! fercd through iho extraordinary delay ! crottttid by action of tho employers. Vivo mom Us' dolrty had also .accrued through tho absence of iho Conciliation Commissioner from Wellington. i Otha Smith, better known tv» BUI. muni«Kcr JSqulty Boot Company, w«a tho first wltiuwa. Tlie look-out man tor tho union aslted tor the production of tho profit and loss account* for iha iiuit three years and tin* b.i lance •«h««ls since the inception of the company. «» stipulated for In tho subpocnu. Ulythe Hill wirelessed an h.o.s. tu "Jmni'V* Frowitck to come to the rvscup, which &at worthy promptly did, by

protesting against the documents m dispute being- "produced." The "trinity" held a korero." and subsequently intimated that they did not want to look at the scraps of paper. Bill forgot he was on a witness-stand, and talked, as if he was still an operative at the bench. The dignity of the Court— pish! Ifs austerity — pooh! Asked if material had increased m cost during the war period, Bill, brandishing his right, like a washerwoman trying to knock out Jess Willard, shouted: "You know that's true. Jack! " The laugh which followed was loud and light, and round one went to Bill. Asked as to whether his firm indented, Bill replied: "No, but we are ambitious to become importers," and added that the wages paid at the. Equity were : Male operatives from £ 2 15/3 to £3 15/-. There were none at the minimum x of £ 2 12/6. Machinists from £1 8/5 to £2 5/-. Wages were regulated, by the amount of skill shown. After which, much to his evident relief, Bill was allowed to back out. Charles J. Ward, the small . MAN WITH THE BIG MO., / stepped forward, his head rearing about a couple of inches above the Bible-desk, Charlie said he was an employer. He had formerly acted as manager for R. Hannah and Company, and also for Skelton and Frostiek. His male operatives received from 7/6 to -27/6 above the minimum. 'Female workers were paid from 32/6 to 45/—. He followed tue policy of employing the best workers. Mx. Frostick: . You say you employ only the best?— Yes, and r think if m6ix can't perfect themselves at the tradii, they'd b© better growing cabbages. v You advertise all over New Zealand? — Yes. I've received as many as ninety applicants m reply to an advert. Then the "wee malm," evidently riled with the somewhat arrogant manner of the cross-examiner, turned his back on his catechist, and fixing his glassy [eye on the "three of a. kind." declared, j "The. boot industry can stand a rise m wages. It is one of the most highlyskilled trades m the world!" This from an employer and secretary of the New Zealand Boot Manufacturers' Association! Frostick was flabbergasted and fell back on his "fud" with a thud.* After a few minor questions from the union towel-holder, the little gent, left the box with the air of Les Darcy after flattening out McGoorty. Nowack, New Zealand manager British United Machinery Company, said that m the last two years most New Zoaland manufacturers had been supplied with up-to-date machinery. His company had supplied 279' machines and taken back 26. He would say that 90 per cent, of the manufacturers were very progressive. Ho had orders on his books still to be executed. The company would prefer, to sell outright*most of their macliincs, but had brought into operation a leasing system as a matter of convenience to employers. During the period referred to he had put on close on • £25,000 WORTH OF MACHINERY on the instalment principle. Some business, this! Arthur Roße, who holds the cash for the "bosses'" Association, stepped up

While they're toiling at the bench With an ardour naught can quench, Toiling like tho fubled nigger To make the bosses' profits bigger; Tho boot trade lads and lasses know That Secretary Jack's not alow. They know their battles will be won By little Johnny llutchtson.

lo speak his little piece. Ho, too had been requested to bring- along' the sheets containing the figures that never Ho. Tho Court did not press for their I production, and Arthur wasn't unxloua. Then that "fat fouglo wight" In tho I union's corner asked him «,bout the j "unwritten law." Arthur Rose by any! other name would have been up agfn' it. iHavinff taken -his "w'elp me," ho sorrowfully confessed that there was an [ unwritten law In operation by which an operative changing from one linn to another could not be paid anything extra for three inontha. Thin was to prevent piracy, he said. Ho didn't say that It didn't do bo, and that certain employers boat their own unwritten law by paying such men a bonus on tho second three months! When Mr. Hutchison put the question, which drew forth the above admission, m order to illustrate his (tho Becretary'a) assertion that several employers were aiming: at keeping tho minimum its tha maximum, ho put it thus: I am working at Hanmih'a and if I desired to loavo thero and obtain v job m your factory, Is it possible for mo to ooiain an Increase on my wngo received at Hannah's? Tho last lioaa of summer replied, m a loud voice: "WE WOULD NOT HAVE YOU!" After ''Bill" Tees, Any Watts and MUs.Kmrna staples had also "spoko," tho man at tha helm of the union craft stepped forward and, signifying after the uitu.il (anhlon that he would not prevaricate, proceeded to put In several valuable tables, which Mr. Froatick admitted wero correctly compiled. These tablet! showed that the oarnlnjr power per head of boot op« cruUvcfl had Increased hi per cent. In ten years: that the number of "pair*" (all clause;* produced) ju-r employ**** pur annum nhowrd itn uv<*ragi» JnoroiiHo Of Ji»S "paint" m ten }v»r«. Tlw tnblr.r also demonstrated that working three hours a we«'k li.ws. tin* New Xeciiaml boot opemtive produetf l, on «n nvrraw*. iiS^l mow U»n.u th»« Ausunvllan operative, for which Up nnd eh« revived on Kin im-ratf*? only £J0 per ntmum more m w:ik<.s. k-nving v «<>i jiaJn <if i;7S per 10 the NVw Zealand irmnufßctur»>rA>vi!r \»n Australian («l-low-ernployvr. Mr. Froßvick then set m to counter

the claims of the union advocates. He Started out with the old wheeze that an increase m wages would EE FATAL TO THE INDUSTKT. And m order to prove his case, he toiled for over three mortal hours with a complicated mass of figures which left the Court m such a mental mist that rwhen Frostick sat down his Honor adjourned the Court for forty- eight hours m order to allow of all concerned to get back to a normal state of mentality. He argued that "while New Zealand paid 27/6 for a forty-five hours' week, only 25/6 was paid m Australia for fortyeight hours. In this country the capital invested represented £45 per employee engaged m the industry. -As to the increased tariff, while the manufacturers only got a benefit of 3% per cent, 17 per cent went to' the workers, 8% goIng m other directions. As a manufacturer he would like to see the importation of goods stop, but the question was what was practicable. For seven years after 18S8, owing to the ADMIRABLE SYSTEM OF DUTIES, importations werd reduced, but the first united demands of the unions on the employers intervened. Whereas m Australia 83 per cent of the total con - Bumption of boots was made locally, the proportion m New Zealand was only 51 per cent. He contended that so far as New Zealand was concerned there had never been any inclination on the part of the employers to get the labor of operatives at a less price than their merit Jairly demanded. : . . Mr. Hutchison challenged the accuracy of Mr. Frostick*s figures so far as -they related to Australia, and handed Mr. Justice Stringer the Commonweal til Tear Book as his authority. Mr./ Hutchison admitted that he. had quoted m the "Maoriland Worker" a paragraph which, as Mr. Frostick claimed, warned bootmakers not to press for an increase o£ \srages unless their was an increase of tariff. He said that he often quoted opinions, which were acknowledged, from other papsrs, with which he personally did not agree. Sometimes he quoted from the organs of the employers. For instance, he had quoted recently from the "Mercantile Gazette" an appeal for new shareholders by a boot manufacturing company. This appeal declared that the Srin advertising was a "gilt-edged investment,", and assured investors that "the flrm had paid large dividends for many years," and that the losing of money was ''an utter impossibility." "The name of the firm advertising," said Mr. Hutchison, looking intently across at his rival, "was Skelton, Frostick and Company." The President of the Court said the Year Book bore out Mr. Hutchison's contention. He then adjourned the Court till Thursday to give the Union tune to chew over MR. JUSTICE'S FUSILADE OF FIGURES and the last-named gentleman time to discover how he got his little sums m addition and averages off the square. On resuming on Thursday morning, the Employers' Rep. intimated that he had collated his figures from the Commonwealth census returns, which gave different results to the Year Book. Asked if he had brought the census returns with him, bta replied to the effect that, like the ' companies' balancesheets, they ,-were shy of the Court. In the last three minutes of his three hours' speech on the opening day, Mr. Frostick had introduced his so-called unskilled clause, called m the Cold Country the dilution dodge. This clause, if incorporated m the award, would enable the manufacturers to employ men at apprentices' wages (32s 9*J) for six months, after which they would rise to the minimum adult wage by increments of 6s per week every six months. Ho declared that the 28 boot manufacturing firms m the Dominion had lost 90 employees who had enlisted, and this at a time when the demand for boots Cor the troops was vr r pent — hence the pressing need of the new. clause. In summing* up for the Union, Mr. Hutchison pointedly referred to the refusal to produce balance-sheets and other documents from which figures had been quoted.. He had already proven to the Court's satisfaction that certain figures put m by tho other side were wrong. He proceeded to criticise Mr, Frostick's other figures and challenged him to show the Court how he arrived at the conclusion that only 61 per cent, of the footwear consumed was manufactured m the Dominion. Frostick fidgeted and then feebly said the last census returns would show. Mr. Hutchison immediately produced the census figures, which showed that while footwear to the value of £619,873 had been manufactured m New Zealand, the imports amounted to £250,---456. This showed that the respective percentages -were 71 pcjr cent, manufactured, 29 per cent. Imported not f>l per cent, and 49 per ..cent as stated by Mr. Frostlek. That gentleman had exaggerated by 20 per cent.! Mr. Hutchison stated that they did not want higher protection, and pointed out that manufacturers who were not Importers—for example, Mr. Ward— had stated that they were not sheltering 1 bohind the tariff. Ho contended that under present**war conditions, with the high and still INCREASING COST OF LIVING the workers were entitled to the higher wages asked. The boot trade was a skilled trade, and should bo paid on the same basis as other skilled trades. The trade, he maintained, could pay a higher minimum wage. Mr. Frostlck's own figures showed that tho trade was more and more productive, and Mr. Frosttck himself had admitted that there was some justification for the workers' demands. The present position of affairs, with the great increase m freights, gave boot manufactun-rs. if they wore enterprising and used tho most up-to-date machinery, the oppor- ! tunlty of capturing a gTcat part of th't> j .imported boot trade. He also ernphn- j Blued tho fact that for the boot munu- j, facturers the only man put Into tho j box was an importer of boots a« well j as a manufacturer. Tho fact that tho? \ Government had given the railway t-m- j ploycoH an additional Is a day further j showed, he maintained, thai the work- j era were entitled to a higher minimum ; wage. Mr, Hutchison ri^alri uro! <-.«?* ! ed strongly against tho ompJoyor*' pro- j posal to Introduce im^UUM labor i:it<i I tho boot trade, which he chnracU'riH- <l ■ a» on attempt to »ocure cheap labor, j THIS DILUTION DODGE ! could not bo Justified or excusoj umWw | the plea of scarcity of «klll^.i haml.-: '. Mr. Frostlel? hltmittlf hud drawn fri«:» the witness Ward that hi reply to an i advert, he hud received 90 appHva. i (ions. Mr. Frostlclt hud added that Mr i Ward advertised all over Now Zealand, t While that was trua. It also was mi- i true In Inference. Mr Ward Jind n<)- j vertlned all over New ZealunJ by ml- > vertlalng In n paper that clreutfttptf all I over tho Dominion, nnim»ly. "Ntnv?>.\- j lanfl TruUi." and m rt«uly 'to i>n> ninth < advertisement therein ho h.td ;uiniitt<ni j on oath that Ik- had n-cHved !>0 ;ii>j>H- i catlona. In conclusion, Mr. )h;n:h!.U5H j ipontemded that the purpose >.f iht ru-w i claum* was to kill O><> ('{TecUvr-ntgit of i the Union and of tsm fivvjinli •>' :h"! >. Court. It meant the d.-KtrurUnt) <>f iw. '■ apprentice systc-rn. J.c-t tlu* cmpliiV"! 1 ..* ; pay th<» minimum adult ojit-r-H? ■■<':= , v.'uk<» lism! by thi> Court and th<* ?*(•>. <n ; ' would not object to 'dilution. In a<! l]< •* j Uoii U» iippr«>MlfV»«. the ;nvnr.l !<r... jr],.,| ! I for mrl'-r-nu" vtorutrrf. urnl tho r<>«?v.'.m ; j Ord«*r-ln-CVtmiell Kav<« power t • .-mpjoy \ returned itoUMfiM »(. n ntt« lov/cr tjv*:> | the minimum. If such a el?uj?<> was!»- ! B<?rliwl Mr, Hu;chl*rjn d«?elmvd It would I but Increase tho t«?»»}o?! »n<l add n* tfcr. j inftamftitf Mf the spirit »f imln^'rl.U ur.. \ rv«t. H«* ;»?mln r<»ltihnu<*tl ihi" \'nh>ti'« ! tjeriWndi* and tinted tlu- Court to :-;r.t:i: < Uic* mmc unabrlilKtrt. | The Court reacrvod lv decision.