THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14715, 24 December 1909, Page 14

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD.

NEWS; AND. NOTES. ;.: .; Br thEoHo.n-. J. T. Paul, M.L.O. Items of information and brief comments en questions ccming under this heading are ilnays iv«icome. Hooks, pamphlets, etc., sent te the editor of this column wili also bo noticed. THE LAPSED LABOUR BILLS.' Thb report of the Labour Bills Committee ot the House of Representatives on the factories Amendment, Shops and Offices Amendment, and Sunday Labour Bill is probably the last wc shall hear of the group of Labour Bills which were expected to be made law this session. The leport recommended that consideration of tho bills 'be postponed until next session owing to tho approach of the end of the present session. The bills were generally approved by the Labour organisations nicsfc closely affected, but were stoutly resisted by tho Employers' Federation. The postponement of the bills is a victory for the federation.

The object of the Factories Amendment was to prevent long horns of work in laundries, and was specially designed to restrict excessive hours and unfair competition of Chinese laundries. There were also a number of other amendments, most of which went in the direction of clearing up anomalies in the existing law. 'The Shops and Offices Amendment would have' been most welcomed by hotel and restaurant employees, though in the ease of female workers the weekly hours would have beon extended: The bill was designed to considerably shorten the- hours of hotel employees, and it was strongly supported by .the unions interested. The dropping of the. bill will .likely complicate matters in connection with now awards.. A. bono of contention between employers and employed is whether the Arbitration Court or Parliament should fix the hours of labour. The court waits on Parliament, and makes certain deductions from the actions of Parliament, and where those deductions are wrong, the employees suffer. However, the ;bill must be taken as at least tb; intention of the and.the effect of it ■would Aave been to considerably, shorten hours. It- will bo interesting to see what the Arbitration 'Court does in the matter' of hours when the next dispute of this character conies before it. Tho Sunday Labour Bill was a private member's effort, and there is not much novelty in its failure. The proposed legislation in _ this connection is by no means new, as in Canada and on the Continent similar provisions are on the Statute Book. The gist of the bill was contained in the following clauses :— 3. -Except in cases of emergency, it shall not bo lawful for any. person, to roi quire any employee to do on.Sunday the ' usual Tfcrk of his ordinary calling unless such employee is allowed, during the next six, days of such week, Z\ consecutive hours without labour. 4. Notwithstanding anything contained herein any person ■ may, on the Sunday, do any' work of necessity or mercy, and for greater .'certainty, but not so as to restrict the ordinary meaning of the expression "work of necessity or mercy," it is hereby declared that it shall bo deemed to include the following classes of work:— (a) Any •necessary or customary work in connection with divine worship; (b) -work for tho relief of sickness and suffering, including the sale of drugs, medicines, and surgical appliances; (c) the continuance to their destination of trains and vessels in transit when the Sunday begins, and work incidental thereto; (d) the delivery of milk for domestic use. and the work of domestic servants and watchmen. The lapsing of those bills is sure to excite tho _ condemnation of organised labour. It is unfortunate that the bills did noi reach their second rending stage, as it would -have given an indication as to how the new House will favour Labour legislation. THE AUSTRALIAN COAL STRIKE. It'is impossible, to-say just how the coal strike raging in. New South Wales will affect, (he tide of human progress. After all, that is of at. feast as much importance aa thc_ immediate result of the strike. One Waibility is being emphasised by the con-

tiiuiancc of (lie strike, al y<l that is the filip likely lo bo given to the principlo of Stato ownership of coal mines. It goes without saying that the Australian Labour' party and the Labour prass arc strongly advocating; and supporting the''extension of. Stato ownership, but the most significant of all signs is the support given to .the proposal by newspapers and individuals who do not come under the influence of the Labour party. The Melbourne Arc, for instance, has stood four square against the advancing .tide of Labourisni in Australia. Nevertheless it is outspoken in.its comments on the eoal . htr iw il makes its deductions in exceedingly plain terms. "The question winch must bs forcing itself on the minds of the average citizens" (says the Age), "when thinkinjr of the present disastrous coal strike is: 'Can any community permit a portion of its citizens a continued control of .proportjcd interests which they are proving their inability to use, except with disaster to the whole people?' In spite of (lie traditional saeredness of private proI>crt.y, that, question must arise again and apim and unless wiser counsels prevail it will ultimately lind an answer in the final taking away of a power which is so misused. All these things show that the coal mine proprietors, m fnilimr to keep their open, arc proving their unfitness for the discharge of duties essentia! to the national _ well-being. It is no answer to tins serious indictment to say that tho fault primarily rests not upon "the owners who do not strike, but upon the miners who do. That may bo true as a fad,-but it (Ices not, alter the situation, which is that gruilt duties which must be discharged to prevent sullering in the whole community are either beyond the power or the will of the coal proprietors who have undertaken hem A ~„„ whose lj v j ng alu ] t j lo com . tort of his dear ones depend upon his work will not ' down tools' for a mere- caprice. Human nature is not built that way. Such a man may strike under the spur of temper, and act in a most unreasonable manner. Leaving aside the contention of tho Age tint tho grievances of the miners cannot to imaginary or capricious. (h 0 paper contends that " whatever blame the community may put upon the miners who have rushed into tins strike must be shared by the masters who fail to use their powers and rights in I hut reasonable and conciliatory manner which they ought to have felt' inseparable from their position and responsibilities. This :s shown in the marked way of tlieir rousiil to, meet the strikers in oiicn conference. Tho reasons which they gave for that refusal arc the dictation of an imperious assumption of superiority to the men. They decline to meet in conference with man who are on strike. They say: ' You have -broken tho laws.' We have not. Wo will have no conference with people who are in orton contumacy; 'First return to your duty; then, ask for;ah open; conference, and wc will "grant-it.' That is an attitude of swagger lo'tbe, rnen, and it is easy to understand how, if that" spirit be carried into all the details of coal mining operations, it cannot do other than breed interminable ill-will. It says in effect that the masters are conscious of their power, and that, they will use that power for the preliminary humiliation of the men. They will only confer with those men after they have lirst prostrated themselves before the masters' authority. There is in such an attitude the temper of the tyrant conscious of power rather than-the spirit; of tho good citizen aware that he owes a great duty lo the community in.which he, lives, and that ho has no right to misuse industrial authority to Rratify his own spleen or punish his private enemies." JOTTINGS. Trades councils and unions are in recess for 'the holidays. Mr Tom Mann left Australia for England and the Continent last Saturday. It is estimated that there arc £0,000 Asiatics in Australia. The Sydney rockchoppers have voted all the funds of their union to the miners on strike. Women employed in France. at sewing shirts, skirts, etc., work 10. 'hours a .day and earn from £4 5s to' £9 10s per year.' By tho provisions of the Unemployed Act in England the minimum pay for unskilled labour is per hour, for men employed on relief work. The Manchester and Salford Trades Council recently expelled from .membership the'local branches of the Ccachmakers' Society, in consequence of their differences with an allied trade union. <• The number of applicants under tho British Unemployment, Workmen's Act during the year eni'ed March last was 193,757, being moro thaji double the number (90,057) registered in the preceding year, Mr W. Williams, secretary of the Wellington Moulders' Union, has been appointed secretary of the Saddlers' Union of that city. Tho Hotel and Restaurant Federation has been established,' and is now registered. The federation consists of the Auckland, Wellington, and Duncdin Unions, and the headquarters have been fixed at Wellington for the year. 'the Wellington Trades and Labour Council has decided, to recommend, that no Trades and Labour Conference .he held in 1010. It is urged, that the proposed Easter conference, which was .fixed by the late conference for Auckland, is too clceo on the heals of its predecessor. Tho last two annual conferences have been held in Wellington. The saddlers of the Empire City have a dispute with their # employers. The operatives demand a minimum wage of Is 3d instead of Is per hour, and also ask for a minimum weekly wage of £3. Tho Into award covered about 70 employers. Tho new oim will apply to double the number. A difficulty has arisen between tho exporters of sheep and Melbourne slaughtermen in connection with the request of the latter 'for an increase "lit'the"slaughtering rate from 25s per 100 to 30s. The exporters proposed to give 27s od for shepn provided •the rate for lambs was reduced from 25s lo 24s per ICO. The Butchers' Union, however, carried a resolution that the slaughtermen should go on killing the lambs wherever required at the present rate of 25s per 100, the mutter in dispute regarding prices to be paid for sheep to be referred to the Federal Council.

The will of the late Senor Ferrer was published recently. Reuter's correspondent sends (lie following summary;—'"After protesting his innocence, which he says will soon he established, Senor Ferrer says he desires that on no occasion near or distant, or from any motive whatever, shall a political ■',or religious demonstration' be made over his remains, since time so employed would be better devoted to the. interests of the living- Ho also desires that friends should speak of him as little as possible, or not at all, for by making idols men only do harm to tha future of humanity. Acts alone should bo studied,'exalted, or stigmatised. Senor Ferrer further gives instructions for continuance of'the educational work which he began." According to a London correspondent, a remarkably successful fund has been organised by the Standard for enabling Unionist working men to be brought forward as candidates for Parliament. I*llo sum of £5000 has .been appealed for, of which some £4000 was forthcoming in a very" few'days. Promises of support and donations have been received, from all the lenders of tho Unionist party, including Mr Balfour, Mr Austen Chamberlain, Mr. Water'Long,-and Lord Curzon; who writes: "Considering that it is only by the votes of the working classes that a Unionist majority can be returned to the House of Commons, that the Conservative,party has in the past been specially identified with legislation designed in the interests of those classes, and that there is no conceivable reason why Congervative working men should not have their direct spokesmen in the House just as well as Radicals or Socialists—in fact, every reason to tho contrary—l earnestly hope that success may attend your -endeavours." _ The Auckland Waterside Workers' Union is approaching the various councils of the Dominion with a view to getting the

united support of the unionists of the 'different centres for the effort they arc making to secure the removal of tho obnoxious tag from their late award which* taxes -Hto union with being responsible for the increase in pilfering on the Auckland wharves during the operation of the last ' award. The members hold that, the bulk of the pilfering takes place at the port of departure, or while unloading at way ports—at anyrate, before the.ship arrives at Auckland; and while willing to bear the blame for what is done at this port the union naturally objects to being saddled with all the discrepancies that occur on board ship. Instances are cited where a case of boots has been found to havo been smashed, and several pairs missing. Tho Auckland lumpers have found an old pair of boots carefully stowed away alongside the case; they were not colonial boots either, showing that in the loading at a Homo port someone had evidently been' working out the old axiom " Fair exchango is no robbery." N The Auckland Union is doing its utmost to remove the stain caused by tho attachment of Judge Sim's tag, and has forwarded copies of a petition to every Waterside Workers' Union in. the Dominion asking them to-sign it and return, so that a. united petition can be presented to Parliament.—" Industrial Tramp," in Auckland Star.