LABOUR PARTY AND THE GOVERNMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13875, 12 April 1907, Page 5

LABOUR PARTY AND THE GOVERNMENT.

DISSATISFACTION WITH TIIB ADMINISTRATION. THE RECENT STRIKE. (From Out Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, April 10. The president of the Wellington Trades and Labour, Council, speaking of the work of tile recent conference in Dunedin, tavs that a colonial federation of labour is almost certain to -bo. brought about in tlio near future. The feeling in the country in favour of an independent Labour party, is, ho says, si l onger than ever in the history of New Zealand, and the next political election' will, he thinks, see a hip change. The workers, he adds, are not satisfied, because in spite of all the Labour legislation tlicy are no hettor o(? than they woro before, excopt perhaps that they aro bettor employed. That, however, is the result hot .df legislation, but of the natural prosperity of the country. The employers aro the people who a.re getting all the cream. Though the Shops and Ofllces Act has made conditions mofo reasonable, tho workers, it. apjiears, aro dissatisfied .with its administration. Complaint has ako |>ecil inade in Dunedin with the administration of the Factories Act. , "It is remarkably" says Mr Conpcr, "that whilst the Government is i so determined to ecc that the law- is oliovcd in regard to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and strikes, it is allowing the Factories Act, as far as tho Saturday holilioliday is concerned, to be simply a deadleltor in a nuniiier of country towns— Invercargill, for instance, and New Plymouth, placcs ill Canterbury, Danhcyirke, Masterton. aiid Fcilding. In fact, I have been informed by both workers and employers in sonVc of ihcoc placcs that fc'males aro being allowed to work on Saturday afternoons."

In regard to the recent strike, local Labour loaders aro emphatic that it was not " engineered " by Australian, agitators. Mr David M'Laren, one of tho Wellington delegates at tho recent conference in Dtihedin, defies the statements' mado, by tho Milliliter of Labour, ujitl says:—"Wo have positive proof, that tlicso suggestions of tlio Minister of Labour aro not in accoi'd'ahco with facts, and the mcro instanco of tlio absence of concerted action in New Zealand shows that tho outbursts aro jii no wise tho result of a, prearranged .scheme. Arising out of this matter, I heard tho Minister of Labour finy at tho social given in Dunedin that if there were strong complaints against the clause of the act empowering inspectors to cnforco atfa'rda ho (Mr Millar) was prepared to liaVo 'that clause deleted. The reflection was' also mado that Wellington 'was the chief , centre of complaints against the administration' of the Labour Department, but it is simply an exhibition of weakness on the part of the Minister to twist tlio_ protests raised against the administration' into an attack on the section of tho act referred to. No council, conference, or deputation bad ever objected to the seel ion of tho Set just referred to, but \Ve shall still continue to demand that tho wholo act shall be administered in a business-like way. Tho Minister quoted figures showing tho number of cases takan up by his department." "Roughly speaking," said Mr M'Laren to a Post reporter, " I find that during the past two years Cases for enforcement; were as follow:—For the 1905-6 year, 263 ciscs taken into the court by department, 214 being won, and in addition to this some .251 were settled out of court by the department without being to tho. court at all. For the 1906-7 year just closed, 399 cases were taken up by tho 'department, 352 being won. These figure) do not include eases which may have been settled bv tho department without reference to the court, and although I have asked for, I have not been able to get tho exact data under that head. Instead of the Minister pointing to the largo number of eases won out of the total number of cases taken in Wellington, he would, I respectfully submit; bo better employed in trying to ascertain tho cause of the fact that the number of cases of breaches of awards have been on tho increase instead of decreasing. A portion of the, unionists of tlie colony had been charged with breaking the law, and others with abetting them in so doing, but now I hat tlio recent confercnco has declared in favour of Labour adhering to the act," said tho Wellington delegate, "it, appears to mo to bo incumbent on the Employers' Associations and their federations to say whether they also l uphold the act, and. if so, whether they can devise any-scheme for preventing tho repetition of the. past experience of a'vety largo number of employers being found guilty of practically setting tho awards of the'court at defiance." Concluding, Mr M'Laren said ho anticipated that much practical good would result from llio Dunedin Conference, and that tho 1903' conference would sco a really sound Labour party in existence in Naiv Zealand.