WORLD OF WORK

NZ Truth, Issue 602, 30 December 1916, Page 8

WORLD OF WORK

PITHY POINTS FOR PROLETARIAN PLUGS . . — BY "HONESTAS M -

The workers across the Tasman are steadily coming to the point of view, which many New Zealanders have held for some considerable time regarding the comparative usalessness of the Arbitration Courts to bring about permanent industrial peace by righting the wrongs from which the workers everywhere suffer. True, one of the main planks of the Australian Labor Party's platform still is, The settlement of industrial disputes by arbitration"; but that this is likely to be deleted m the near future may b« gathered from the following statement by Tom MarHha.ll. one of the coal miners' delegates to the Labor Party Conference: "In years gone by I have often told members of my organisation w;hen on strike that they must go back to work. Never again will I give them that advic«. We have spent £7000 or £8000 on arbitration, and have not got Justice yet. No more "cursed arbitration" for ua." The experience of New Zealand is likely to be reacted m the Commonwealth, of .the sponsera (the workers)

of arbitration turning against it, and its former opponents (the employers) defending it to the last ditch. • •- • Truly the -worker has got to pay for his fling every time. "Nunquam" writes "Honestas" thus concerning his own little bit of a grievance: "Two of my brothers are at the front doing their bit for England, Mother England. That is they were at the front till Boche Fritz and Hans got them both with a steel pill or a shrapnel plaster, and now they are both m I hospital m London. Being convalescent and wanting. to move round and soe the sights, they dropped a cable message asking If I could spare 'em a few quid to tide 'em over till pay day. Despite the high cost of living, with some effort and ditto abstinence I managed to scrape flvo flimsies together m a fortnight (four of which I may say I I borrowed from a pal) and set oat to ! send them by cable as requested. As I am a factory worker employed from 8 a.m. to '> p.m. I had to go down to I the. cable office m my lunch hour. And when I got there I read? this notice: Shut for lunch . Fair dinkum! So I had to sit on the step and wait till the thing was fed. I I had no lunch. I was fed up with wait- j ing. It was the longest lunoh hour I j ever had. The. boss said the; same when I got back three-quarters of an hour late, while the amount deducted from my pay envelope at the end of the week showed that my employer has a i notion that every worker does an hour and a hairs work during the first j three-quarters after lunoh. Then as if I had not been penalised enough the biokes at the cable shop charged me double price for that cable. Before the war you could cable Home five quid for five roberto. Now they're charging ten white ones, and never say thank you. Surely, *Hone9tas,' this is a little thick — two bob for every twenty sent to help cheer up our brave boys who have done their bit for King and country. Isn't there room for some reform here? And why should the cable contraption be apragged during luncheon. Their office hours' are from nine to five. Most of us plugs work from eight to five. So when the cable cobblers close during luncheon how are we getting on? But I forgot that cable merchants don't gTow fat on what the workers spend with them — even when prices aro j doubled." . J True, the cable companies don't exist I for the benefit of the workers. All the I same, while the war ia en, at lea&t, iui> effort should be made to remove grievances such as are ventilated m the above letter. • • • The recent agitation which was engineered for the purpose of ousting the Hon. J. T. Paul from his position on the Patriotic Committee, has called forth a strong protest from various sections of New Zealand workers. The j following resolution was carried unanimously at a representative gathering of all grades of railwayman held recently m Dunedln: 1 "That thin meeting places on record

its high appreciation of the manner m which the Hon. J. T. Paul has fought on the Otago and General Welfare Committee, and also through the public press, for equality of sacrifice during this great war. and that we express our complete confidence m him as a Labor representative. Further, we believe, that m view of the tone of the press criticism and also the action of some of the members of the Wel- ( fare Committeo m resigning, because of | a difference of opinion on a political question, thereby placing more importance on that opinion than on the welfare of the wives and dependents of the men who are prepared to fight and die m order to protect the lives and property of those whu remain behind, it is necessary that positions on sucfc committees should be filled by broad minded and clear sighted men such as the Hon. J. T. Paul has proved himself to be." With every word of the above "Hones - tas" finds himself m hearty accord. Since tlie workers arc providing the great bulk of the tightens, eurely such committees as have for their purpose the dealing out of help to the bereaved dependents of soldiers and to the returned wounded, ought to havo representative workers thereon who will fearlessly see that everyone is treated fairly and without fear or tavor. • • • In a letter, couched In language altogether too forcible to be allowed free entry into our epistolary columns, Mr. Hiram Hunter, Secretary United Federation of Labor, replies to a recent communication written by one J. R. Fagan. Boiled down Hunter declares Pagan doesn't know what he's talking about. In proof of this 'Mr. Hunter says: "If he knows anything at all about the Federation, ho so freely attempts to slander, he knows that It Is an industrial organisation only, and that its funds are not us«d for running political candidates." Mr. Hunter very pointedly adds: "It is all a matter of education. The working class gets the representation it is entitled to, according to the standard it has reached for the time being, no matter whether It is In Parliament or m an Industrial organisation. There is not anything so obvious, to anyone with the capacity to think, as that tho working class, Immediately it Is ready, by becoming thoroughly organised industrially m one strong national body, can take charge of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, and thus end. the present unjust system, of exploitation for all time." I And at that we had better leave it.