CONCILIATION BOARD.
THE LINOTYPE^ DISPUTE,
The adjourned meeting of the Conciliation Board in the matter of the dispute between the Typographical Association', and the. Evening Star•'aridi.p'aily, Times and .Witness Companies 'with reference to the linotype machines was.held in'the Supreme Court on Tuesday, morning, when the membersl of the board present .were:-. Messrs W. A. Kim.(chairman);.G. P.,Farquhar, J. A; Millar, M.H.K., and K.-Ferguson.' Messrs G. Fenwick (Times), .arid-J.-.-W.-Jago (Star) represented the companies; and Messrs W. A. W. Wathen and Andrew Walker: the Association. .
Mr Wathen x reported as follow3:rrl have to report" that in accordance 'withI.the last recommendation of the board a meeting ofthe.Otago. Typographical Association , was advertised for Saturday, the 17th iiist. At that meeting Mr ;Andrew Walker (secretary) .mentioned that1 Mr George" Fenwick had declined to give any details whatever: in connection with the following ■ recommendation,' which was, understood to be the advice of this board:—" That consideratioa of all/matters in-dispute between the parties be adjourned -for ,12 months from January 1, 1809, and that in the meantime the i hours of,work for machine'operators be 45 per week;.for day hands anil 451 per .week for night :hands;.'y?x>rk done in excess o£ these hoursito. >c paid .for at the rate, of one. and .one-third. : The wages to be paid.operatbrs. during the said, period of 12 months to be ascertained as follows: The average of, ; the aggregate.:earnings of the men now woikihg the machines in both ; offices for the ■ period \of three. months' ended October'3o, 1897, to .be the. rate. ; Kule la of : the general conditions as agreed to at:the con-' ference to be in force during'the said period" of , 12: months. ."Rule la reads as .follows: 'That employment of. operators on piecework be at the^ option of employers. That the following .rates:of speed be recognised ns fair standards .of . efficiency: 5000 ens per hour .within sixmonths.'from, the time of operator ' starting machine,'. 6000 in .eight months,- 6500 in 12 months, 7000 in 16' months/ ". At 10.30 a.m. to-' ' dsy Mr J. W. Jago informed me that so far as he knew: the average1 of wages had1 not been struck by Mr Feriwick, but we should know the result when the Board of Conciliation sat this morning. Mr Walker also reported that a rough estimate.iof: the" average of the'linotype : operators in the Dunedin'Star; office, as. compositors for the three months, ended October 30, .1897; :.was about £3:|los.per ,week per.man. Aftei' careful, discussion by the' meeting, the following motion, was".carried^unanimously: — " That .the,,. Otagq.\ Typographical:.•;■ Association1' ~ is ' riot .in favour'!' of' .accepting the recommendation .:of . "the 'Board-.; of Conciliation, in.'.. regard ■/ to . the ..stab wage." The' meeting,also declared that".their, delegates had made top; many concessions to the employers/through-not considering the vast, difference 'between' the English and American linotype. machines, arid "the following motion was: carried "unanimously :W That the following rates; of speed be recognised as fair standards of efficiency, on the English linotype: 5000 ens perjiour within six months {from time of operator -starting' machine,, 5500 in • nine .months, QOOO. in ;12'i months, 6500; in 16 months.' The average .for calculation ■to■' be minion." I, a.ni advised that a .linotype dispute is to be opened before the Board of Conciliation' ift Wellington .to-morrow.'.. Haying regard to the. conflicting views of employers and: typographical associations, .I- suggest .that these {proceedings bo'adjourned, in order;.that.one ca^e ,for the colony may be heard before the1. Court of Arbitration h'ere'br iri 'Wellington. ■ . ''.'■,,,' , Mr Sim,:. What I understand from the association's ■■■•- representative/ is that the . matter should go to the Arbitration Board. . '■;■"' ' "■"
.Mr AVatKeri: That'is so.' : ; ■' ':'■' : y Mr Sim: ■What-do you'aay-to that, Mr'Fen'wick? ■-M.rA •:■/■. :•-/--./■ 7 "'■■• ■•■ ■•
! Mr Fenwick: I have hot the slightest objection, if it suits the board;-'I do not know if it-will do so. We lirave no wish to push the matter further.than the. Conciliation Board, but it seems that eventually!it must go to the court. Whether the judgei of the' Arbitration Court will take the view.that it.should at this stage go to the court, or whether you will,' it' is for you to say.'.So far as the employers are concerned, .they mil gladly fall' in 'with the - suggestion made.;.'.. !.;. ,;■! ■ -. .)..; ..'.../;'. ';■'.
Mr Farquhar said it'was.nbt that the board failed to come to a decision:.upon the subject; it was that the parties •.would not agree to the view that had been.taken. ~ , ,'' .'. , ■
Mr ■■Walker thought,it was rather unfortunate'that'Mr Wathen-should have' made his statement, "before' showing him (Mr Walker) the decision of the meeting; v :■' -,-'.: ,- Wathen said Mr, Walker knew'the 'decision of the meeting; he had been present at
: Mr. Walker knew the'decisibn of the'meeting, but said that the .board, had .given a recommendation, and until they got that settled the . proceedings, should have gone on. . y Mr SimrMr Wathen, who is the representative, has asked that we should refer, the matter to the • Arbitration1 Court, and' Mr' Feuwick agrees. , ' ■ ." ' .■ . _ ,- 'Mr Walker: That is not the position. ■■■' Mr Sim: You and.Mr Wathen ought to agree ■between yourselves as'to what the position is. !■•' Mr; Walker; It,is a,serious step Mr.. Wathea (hiV suggested, arid not in harmony,, with .the !opih'ion"or view qf! the-general meeting. ' ■ Mr ,Wath.en ' asserted thai 'it was," and said that it was : Mr Walker's fault that he did not know .what ;.was, gbing.to' be done. ,'<lf .Mr WalkerV had .'met.' him early that morning,. or as; arranged'on the previouß.'day,'the.:,matter would not have .Been; left for discussion before the'bbafdi /'-: "' j ■!"';'- - ■ ' "- ■ ' .! ■'■vjfr Sim said that at any rate! they understood that Mr'Wathen represented'the association, and that he had made an application that had been agreed' to. " '; rM~ .Mr Walker;said he was also one of the representatives: of the association,'and he looked at it in this way: Ho knew the desire of the association was that a-recommendation should be received; from : the board in respect of this matter. ;\ . ' :-> ;\*\ -;J i: : v"! V :■.-! ," ■ ■■' :■'■.■.^. \Mr ,Sim': Do. you' suggest' that. there is any chance of the board settling the dispute? I. gather from! what Mr ; Wa.then: has .stated that the members of. the-association' object to the decision upon thetwb points before the board— that:is to say, the members actually!object to /what you" did. .} . ' ,'; '. ;*' .'"V'■'?■.■ '".-.' '"'v-.'.'."'..; , "Mf! Wathen: -That is the/positive facii. I think Mr Walker is entirely';out of'order in -.addressing the board at this stage of the proceedings.; ■'■■■■•'■ "j-"'.'.' ' •■'■' " ' -'• ';" ' ' ;; iMr Walker:. That may "be so,;'but I.»m: entitled to-my: view of the.matter. ; li'admit the case will likely 'go to the'Arl>itrat.ion'!Court. ;; Mr Sim: Is it worth wliile wasting time before the. board, •if both parties agree that 'there is no chance of the board settling the dispute? Is-it any...use the'»board.Uaking -.the trouble to make recommendations which are not likely, to . be ..accepted?.-.-■■'■' r ,-....; " ' :■' '■-."■".".•■ In one sense,that is quite true; but,.you :! niust remember that'you have heard part.of .the. case, and we may be,prepared: to; put bur side,before the board, .'.. .... > ';■ . Mr Sim:' You have done that .'akeady'l "^. ■!lMr. Walker:1 No.'iv '';!;';.V^:.; ■ ;-.■ ;;",.'
I 'Mr Fenwick: I.caneoarcely:wlmit.tliat that is, affair statement.. /;.Mr: Walker .and Mr Wattien have bpened.their side.very tally before the board.'' They are ; . the persons i who • instituted the proceedingsj- and how: they can say, >vhen 'both Mr'Watheri-and Mr Walker-have addressed the board,''that, they; have not 'put their "case fully 1 ;do notknow. We may .have more' carefully prepared oiir case—l: do not know if that is what is meant, —but that they have put'their case fully is, I. think, quite evident. ■-.■-.-.• -• , V■ ', '' v ' ".'-."■ .••
■ Mr Sim.repeated that as the .parties were not likely to agree, he did not. see there, was any.use in going further. ~ : ' ".M} Farquhar did not know that'they required any I further evidence.■,.. They had already arrived at a conclusion, arid' had . made^ a recommendation. .He did '.not think,: I;hey even wanted the figures showing the average .for the time mentioned; they could niake their recommendation on the basis of [ the average for the time specified;; and the result could" be'ascertained afterwards.^ The- '/"'figures', i- could ■'. be checked if there was need, b'u'Mt'wap not likely there would be any attempt 'at. misrepresenta-
, Mr Walker said that if Mr Fenwick had allowed the' same facilities as' Mr Jago.;had done for getting' at this average,- possibly the re-commendation-would have; been entertained-by the association. It was largely due., to the absence of any definite knowledge on that point that they had decided in the .direction..they had...; They were, of course, anxious for piecerates, but he did not know that thesssociation generally were averse to an average wage being struck in the way suggested at,the last sitting of the board. That they had riot done Bo.was, he.thought, largely ,due to Mr Fchwick having taken a different view of ,the recommendation of the board from that.. which he understood was generally accepted. : ' ' ♦• Mr Fenwick: "With your permission, Mr Chairman,.l should ;like to.give-a,word of explanation of the matter" that Has been mentioned now; Mr Walker has made ail accusation to which I think I: ought to bo allowed to reply-' He has stated that it jb largely due to me-that the suggested compromise has fallen through; .or, at any rate,!that there was a probability of its being accepted i£ .1-had; given the union facilities for ascertaining the average wages earned by our hande. Now, I ask you, and I hope you will give your, opinion whether" I am correct or not, if the. definite arrangement that was entered into, when the matter, was adjourned was not this:.that we should strike an average for a' certain period of last year—for the three months selected-—and oh that average we should stand? I was willing on behalf of the employers, and so was Mr Jagb, to stand on that average: Mr Walker came to me and asked me to strike the average, and let, him have ,it in order. that, ho" might submit it to the union for.discussion. 'I think that was a wrong step to take, because I feel that if the average; was such as would not suit tho union they would immediately reject it, but if it was suitable they would accept it, When we last adjourned,the understanding waa that the average for the three months selected, whatever it was, should bo accepted by the employers' and by the union. " . Mr Wathen said his point of view waß entirely different. The understanding was that tho average shonld. be- struck by Mr Fenwick and Mr Jago, and checked by them, so that if .a man was off two days in a week or three nights then an allowance" should be made' for that.. Mr Fenwick: Certainly. , .' ' Mr Wathen. said that if they had been satisfied that such a course had been pursued they would cordially have recommended the association to adopt the recommendations of the board, but they had been practically in the'dark on Saturday night, and therefore the had decided that it could not accept'tho recommendations of the board. :~ '■■' ;
Mr Sim said he did not think there would be much use in.having a discussion about the matter. The board had 'made certain recommendations when it last sat, had now met to see whether they would bo accepted,'and were informed that'the association would not agree to accept them. The only question* now-was-whether they should go on with tho dispute or refer it to the Arbitration Court. ' After some further discussion of a conversational character, Mr Walker concurred in Hr'Wathon's request to refer tho matter to the -Arbitration Court. ' ■■■ ~ : Mr Sim: We refer the. matter to the Arbitra-. tion Court for settlement. .',, Mr Jago: In the meantime things will go on as they are.. Tho Chairman: les. ~ . , •■ Mr Fenwick mentioned that there v.-as an action pending before the Conciliation Beard at Wellington, which waß fixed to come on on the following-day, and a similar actior had seemed, imminent 'in connection with the Christchurch employers. Was it to be understood that these proceedings would be now stopped in'order that the Case taken before the Arbitration Court might govern the whole colony? ' ; ' Mr Wathen said that he should recommend the. Wellington and Christchuvch people to stop proceedings, and,suggested that the Conciliation Board here should make a recom-. mendation to,ffie Wellington Board .upon this subject, as that would-be more likely to carry weight' than any representations he might make.'1, , . ~ Mr Sim said it.would be> outside the functions of the board:here.to make any recommendation to the: Wellington-Board. . ..... . ... This'closed the proceedings m this matter, and 'the dispute, will 'be referred.to the Arbitration Court for settlement. :
THE WELLINGTON DISPUTE.
(Per-'United Press; Association.) '■''■ '■ WELLINGTON, December 21. The linotype dispute came before the Conciliation Board to-day.. Messrs Vaughau, M'Girr, and Vaney-represented the Typographical Union, and Mr Gresley Lukin appeared for the employers in the unavoidable absence of Mr G. Fenwick,'of.Dunedin, who had been deputed to represent the local employers. Mr Luldn appliedjor an adjournment on'ftccoiint of Mr Fcnwick's absence. He also said-that it would be a Waste of time for the board to go into the case, as it was almost certain to be taken to the Arbitration Court. The union representatives'opposed the adjournment, Ilia chairman of the board adjourned the^ case sine 'die, and remarked that tho better.plan would be to defer proceedings until the Arbitration Court in Dunedin had given a decision. The parties would confer as to the date for goinp on with the; case, but. the chairman intimated that he could not sit before January' 3. In adjourning the-further hearing of tho linotype: dispute by the Conciliation Board _today/Mr Quick (chairman) said he did so on his own responsibility .\. This provoked warm protest from Messrs' A. Collins and D. P. Fisher,, who, as member's of the board, contended that the chairman had exceeded his authority. After the board'rose Messrs Collins and Fisher interviewed the Premier, and detailed the circumstances to him, MrSeddon said the-board had the act before them, and he could not in-; volvo himself in their squabbles. ".:■■:. ,
COAL MINING DISPUTES
The disputes betweeflthe Coal Miners' Union and the Kaitangata; Railway and Coal Company and tho Alltindale Coal Comoany, the hearing of.which was:.provisionally fixed for Tuesday, were adjourned '.by arrangement, -the former to Kaitangata on January 17, at 9.30 a.m., and the latter to Palmerston on January. 23, at 2.80 p.m..,,. . •■ -,'- - - .._ .__ -..■■.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 11303, 22 December 1898, Page 3
Word Count
2,334CONCILIATION BOARD. Otago Daily Times, Issue 11303, 22 December 1898, Page 3
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