OTAGO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14359, 31 October 1908, Page 7

OTAGO EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETINCi.

Tho annual meeting of the Otago Emplovers' Association was held yesterday afternoon ie the Ldiieation Office. The president (Mr .T. C. Thomson) occupied the chair, and about 40 members were present. PRESIDFATS ADDRESS. In moving tho adoption of the annual report (ptevioudy published in the Times) and balance sheet, wiiich showed n credit Italanco of £133 Is, as against £Bii 10s 8d at the beginning of the year, the President itiid:— Consideration of the rcpoi;t thai tho chief item referred to in it, is our old friend tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Ido not know how we sbould get along without it: it. appears to lie about as satisfying as is that blessed word Mesopotamia to some highly emotional |>coplo. With the utmost regularity it conies up each year, but tliis lime, shows very considerable change in its previous appearance. My address last voar reviewed the act adversely, ftiul dealt'chiefly with llm amendments w'riith tho Minister,of Labour proved lo make then.' and I expressed tho opinion that it Would lm better if it was not passed, so that further connideration might be given to some of the debatable clauses, and a bill more generally acceptable be evolved. Those amendments wero dropped, and our report explains fully tho modifications mads in liie act, and as it now appears it is a distinct improvement upon its predecessors, lint, still lias some objectionable features, and we lia.ve ye* .to see how it will do duty in the st' Snt time ahead of us. There is a point- ;ii connection with the passing; of t.his bill that, I desir lo refer to. Members of the llou iplained that it was rushed through fits final return from the Upper IlouSfi I without dieir having an opportunity of knowing or discussing the alterations. It is high tiroo that we exacted a pledge from all our members that they will ■ strenuously oppose the present system of passing legislation l>v exhaustion. If is quite reasonable that Ministers and 'members should become intimately acquainted with the country, kit it is not reasonable that the former should neglect tho preparation of work for the session, so that, when it begins members should not be aide to get to work at oncc. Members are well paid, and we_ should insist upon their discharging their duties with thoroughness and efficiency, even if it take 12 months to do it. It appears to mo that no sooner do they roach Wellington than they begin to wonder when it will be time to get home again. That is not the proper framo of mind to approach their work and- they must amend it. It will be interestinnr to consider how the act has been and is looked upon |}y both parties, While employers, with some exceptions, have not approved of tho aot, once it became law they have submitted to it with wonderful patience. On the other hand, while the trades and labour, councils and trades unions never ceared praising the act so long as they could use it as a machine for further extortion from the employers, as soon as it lost its usefulness in this direction their attitude became distinctly hostile, and is so still. The Minister of Labour invited suggestions from all parties to assist him in his endeavour to produce a satisfactory measure._ He had to complain that fco did jipt receivc a single suggestion from tho Labour party, so entirely did it withhold its co-operation and assistance. Tho Miners' Federation, recently in conference, after considering the new act, voted against registering under it, hut afterwards decided to refer it to .the vote of the whole members. Since our last annual meeting wo havo had three serious strikes in the Dominion—tho Blackball miners, the Auckland tramways, and the Wellington bakors.—all three unwarrantable. 1 Had tho Government administered tho law with Ihe same firmness in dealing with the first as the Premier of New South Wales did when dealing with the Sydney tramway strikers, it would have been equally short-lived, tad the other two woidd never have taken place. Tho community would also have been saved tho dissembling indulged in hy tho Attomeygenoral in his attempt to define a strike. The Arbitration Court: on Thursday, in Auckland, condemned and fined the union for the strike, and upheld the company in its right to dismiss its employees by paying a week's wages in lieu of a week's notice, thus upsetting tho now celebrated but monstrous decision given by Dr M'Ajthur on this point—a result that must, ffivo employers throughout''tho Dominion great satisfaction, and as d decision shows a common-sonse view of the relation of master and servant. You will observe that the demands of tho -unionists for statutory ' preference have boon, entirely and rightly ignored. Those 'who support the demand say it is justified on the grounds that the so-called benefits derived apply to all work-el's aliko, and have been gained at the cost of the unionists. Setting this point aside, it is worth while to ascertain if there are not more than counterbalancing results arising from unions' methods and actions, and I think we can discover a state of things which is exceedingly bad, I and prospectively becoming worse, and that is the general lowering of the moral tone of tho community that is going on and has been going on for a very long time. I venture to say that there is more psrjury indulged in in the Arbitration Court in a month than in the Supreme Court- in a year. You may think tins a very strong statement, but it _ can be proved, and the worst feature of it is that it is not individual perjury, but combined perjury, carefully prepared beforehand. A mere statement like this is not of much value unless it can be supported by facts. Let mo <;ivc you quite a recent one. When the Arbitration Court heard the Taralu case, witness after witness swore on oath that no matter how they worked it was impossible to turn out more than eight boxes of coal a day. The owners had rcmarkod previous to the case coming on Tather a curious thing: when a miner in an absent moment turned out nine boxes his physical collapse was so grqat that he never succecdcd in filling more than seven boxes on the following day. It was also noticed (hat, although the present scam wa6 becoming easier to work than the upper increase resulted from this fact—always the eight boxes. In many cases the court get tired of the iteration when witness after witness delivers himself of the samo formula, and decline to hear more. Well, in the Taratu ease the court decided against the men, and 27 of them went out. Since then some have thought better of it and returned, and what do you think has been the result? Why, one of the most vehement upholders of the eight-box theory has actually turned out 14- boxes of coal and two of sla\k in a day.—(Laughter and applause.) I can give an instance of a union secretary schooling his witnesses in a country hotel, where the partitions were very thin, deliberately instructing them to swear as facts what, ho and they know vYSre not. so. Those who have much knowledge of the Arbitration Court know how almost intiKwsiblc jt is to get evidence that will assist it to form a really accurate osiuion of the conditions prevailing. t Take the Bricklayers' I'nion, of Wellington. Tt has issued instructions to its members that no man is to lay more than 400 bricks a day. It is well known that 10C0 bricks a tiny can be laid with ease. Here we have a highly-paid trade refusing to do an honest day's work.

' 'IV* are not- isolated ca«s. Lnl are typical of what prevails throughout. tJie Dominion. ami I thiul; that. the effect upou the young people. who cannot fail lo become' cognisant of tiioDi at an early ago, must he distinctly—and. L four, permanDnt.ly—b.itl. and will certainly react <k-tri-mentally on th(> community. Kmployers estimate the falling off all-round efficiency in labour from I his cause at, from 15 to ?,0 per font, during the last decade — (" Hear, hear.")

Time will not permit in,, jo say more upon this act at pn.v.'nt, beyond impaling llio hopp expressed in ihe report thai, member* will make themselves acquainted with its details, anil show that, I.lky are law-abiding citizens by confoiming lo it while it remains upon our Stabile Bonks.

If lime had permitted. I should like lo have dealt with t-lial very vexed (pip.-lion. the cost of living. I can only, however, just, touch upon it. anil T would like to w.y that. as far as I am awure. hardly a single writer, speaker, or newspaper has touched upon the re*! folulion of t.lie problem—tluit is. thrift, and self-denial; there '5 r.o oilier. Our standard of living is far tr.o liin'li. We number articlw of food as nre«sjrie,s which are not necesaries at all. We spend mov.oy on trains, outings, atul variety entertainment-. Tile hulk of-our domestic ofonomy is lad and wasteful. Wo aro ljocomintr luxurious ami fastidious in our and ibo sconw flirc»misUtnoo« force 113 hack 1o n liardior life the lx'ltor. We aro lowering Labour from its plaee of honour, and instead are unduly elevating pleasure a.nd leisure.

The remarks made in the report upon the federation of industries are most, important.. and the suggestions should be actcd upou without de.lay. It is a further extension of the principle of organisation, and wo have now had considerable experience of the benefits arising; from that, in MMCotiott TfAli our ,ooti Those

of you wlio follow industrial movemenls in (lie Old Country arc aware how beneficial such federation lias boon in steadying various industries and preventing the extension of strike.v-(Applause.) The reference to the secretary is short— it. generally always is,—but it in no way overstates ifo case regarding 'he everincreasing pressure of iiis worli and the necessity of giving him assistance. Tt is quite possible Hint under tho amended art tho same demand for his services may not exist, hut' thai, we cannot ascertain until after .tanuary 1 next. 1 can assiue yon that he has never abated in his zeal for the iis-ociation. and ha; ofien worked ninny hours' overtime.- (I.oitd applause.) There is one mailer which I think should he considered by the incoming executive, and that, is the question of the income lax. At present there exists discrimination of rates, the 5 per cent, depreciation on buildings and machinery is inadequate, ami we also' have lo p»y upon all donalions and stilwcriplions we give. Thai I should not ho.

It is satisfactory lo see tho steady 'Stream of immigration setting in towards us. Many of our industries arc very short of liiikN. our agricultural ai:d pastoral settlers require more help, and as each latch brings several thousands of pounds with it ii.s member* should prove valuable and useful additions to our population. Population is our crying need lo push the development cf I lie country ahead. With those remarks, gentlemen. T bog to move the adoption of the report .—-(Loud applause.)

.Mr John M'tlregor (Otago Foundry) seconded 111? motion. The Employers' Association, ho thought, had justified ius cxi-taice;' the executive had carrcd out it; duties well, and the secretary (Mr Scott) was tho right man in Iho right place.— (Applause.) lie desir'd to say a few worda about, .the falling off in business. Of Ja(e years (Iw work cf the foundries had fallen off very much indeed. It was attributable almost.-entirely to the increased cost of production and handling. In this Dominion a very largo quantity cf ironwork, manufactured and raw material, was used. The bulk of the ironwork used could really bo made here—at one time a gTCat deal of it wm mado here—that was to jay, it was possible to compete with the nomc markets, lint that was not tho case now, owing, in his opinion, to the Inirdens that had been laid on the trade within the last 10 or 12 y.sars. Some of these burdens had been put cn by voluntary concessions cu the part cf the employers, and, others through the awards of the court. The result was that at the prsM.ni, timo the foundries were being squeezed out by wotrk imported from Home. Naturally pnough, when manufactures could bo obtained so cheaply from Home, public .bodies and others could not ho blamed for importing their requirements. J;ii coiroodion with the Dundin (ia-iworks, lie 'had .ceil hundreds of tons of ironwork being taken from the ships. A great deal cf it could have been made in a country blacksmith's shop, though some of it- was, no doubt, spcoial work. Ninety per cont. of it could have been made hero. It was the cost of production that was the great trouble, aT.d it was time that, labour loaders and politicians took into serious consideration tho stopping of this additional squeezing of employers in tho matter of wages, and so adding to tho ecst. of production.—(Applause.) 'It was hard for the labour loaders and their followers to understand that t'hc manufacturer could not pass the increased cost on to his customers. When ho waa in London he noticod that t.lie carriages in die underground tub.s worn of French make, simply because they could bo mado cheaper there than in England. Yet there were workmen who thought thoy had lo do nothing hut ask for an incroiKO in wage.? and thoy would ret it. He regretted to notice that many of tho parliamentary candidates wero now using the lover thoy"had eo well used in former times—an ir.orcafo in wages. Another serious phaso in connection with tin cost of production was tho decreased output. Taking all the fads into consideration, lie thought it was timo that the laliour agitatcra and leaders ajid legislators tcok matters into their consideration, ar.d cased off for a year or two in order to seo how last sea-ion's legislation would work.— (Applause.)

Mr D. M'Fherscn (president of tho Chamber of Commerce) said he was much interested in the speeches of tho president awl Mr M'Grcgor. Thero was no question that a better stato of feeling existed between •employer aaid employee, and all were agreed that anything |:hat would promote and foster that batter feeling ought; to have thoir best sumiort, After all, tho inlevots w.aro practically identical. The capitalist was of very little value without labour, and la.bour was in a hopeless ea?e without the capitalist, a.nd that t.he feeling that should exist, botween Ihe two .should bo most harmonious was most, essential.

Tho mctioii for tho adoption, of tho report and balnneo sheet was unanimously approved.

THE NKW ZEALAND FEDERATION.

Mr R. Chishclm (cenior woe-president), in speaking- on th£ eubj'xt of tho Now Zealand Employers' Association, expressed his warm approval of tho remarks of the previous speakers, and paid a compliment to the ability displayed by the president. Regarding the Colonial Federation, lie said that iv very great and important work throughout the Dominion was done liy it. It was gratifying to know that the federation was gcMwffstronger and strongerevery year. It did ono'6 soul good to sco the delegates who attended the animal meetiiitt in Wellington a few weeks ago. They wore not mora apologies for men, but. men whose whole countenances beamed with in-tell-igcmee, and who. were able to speak on every question. The Parliamentary Committee consisted of Wellington men, and their work could onlv be spoken of in t?rms of the hig.hcst prai©. The success of the New Zealand Employers' Federation and the success that attended the efforts of the Parliamentary Committee way, in his judgment, to a very great extent due to tho energy ami activity of the secretary, Mr William Pryor, a young man who possessed wonderful capabilities and tact,—(Applause.) During last session of Parliament, he. believed that outside of the Prime Minister there was no harder-worked man than (he parliamentary secretary of the Employers' Federation. He desired to move—"That this association desires to express its high appreciation of the good work done by I lie New, Zealand Kmployers' Fcdoratipn during the past year, and its deeo indebtedness to the .Parliamentary Committee, especially its energetic and capable secretary, Mr William Pryov, for the vigilance and care exercised in closely watching the interests of employers during.,the recent sitting of Parliament." .Mr W. B. M. Fea seconded ihe motion. Tho President endorsed Mr Chisholm's remarks regarding the work of the federation, and especially eulogised Mr Pryor's service.;. The irtoiion was carried with enthusiasm. KI.KCTION OF OFFICERS. The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows:—Provident, Mr ,T. 0. Thomson (re-elected): vice-presidents, Messrs K. Ohisholm and .T, W. Ilenton (re-elccted): executive—Messrs A. Burt, \V. Felt'. K. lili'mliniujr, W. ]!. 51. Pea, (!. Femvick, P. li. Sargood. 0. W. Rattray, 0. Simpson, ,T. Leliiliridge, and D. K. Tlicoiniii; Federation Executive—Messrs R. Chisholm, J. W. Ilenl.on, ,1. C. Thomson. and CI. 'Simpson; auditor, Mr Peter Barr (re-elccted). COIiPMIIEXTABT, On the motion of Mr Chisholm, a voie of iliauks was accorded lite president and the secretary (Mr \Y. Keolt) for their services last year.

The President, in returning thanks, said the bulk of the work fell upon the secretary. If the secretary was a capable man the work of the president, was light. Apart from that, he got. the co-operation of members whenever it was wanted, so that his duties were comparatively light. The ival bnint o! the work was borne by the secretary.—(Applause.)