INDUSTRIAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18625, 5 August 1922, Page 15

INDUSTRIAL WORLD.

NEWS AND NOTES. 3 - ] Br J. T. Piui,. j _ i 4

DUNEDIN LABOUR CANDIDATES. Seven definite nominations have been received for the Labour selection ballots for four city eeats-Messrs W. Brovm, J. Gilrihmt, J. S. Loydull, J. E. M'Manus, 0. M. Moss, J. W. Munro, M.P., and P. C. The candidates for the selection ballots will address meetings of members of unions affiliated to the Labour Representation Committee and branches of the Labour Party later in the month, and the selec-

tion ballot will be held during September 4 and 9 THE ARBITRATION COURT. , The sitting of the Arbitration Court which has just opened in Wellington promises to be one of the most important for a considerable period of time, as it is certain to be one of the longest. Several large disputes, including those affecting seamen and waterside workers, will finally be disposed of, and there are an unusually large number of miscellaneous applications. For the most part these are appeals against the court’s determination to reduce the"” cost of living bonus. SHOP ASSISTANTS’ JOURNAL. 1 have received copies of the first and second issues of the New Zealand Shop Assistants’ Journal, the official organ of the Federated Shop Assistants of New Zealand. The journal is a modest venture, published in Wellington, and is specially designed to. interest shop assistants. In the first issue a short historical sketch of the attempt to form unions is given, but in some important particulars it is inaccurate. Nevertheless it is an interesting con-

muuuon io iraoe union nistory, ana tne news matter generally will doubtless interest those for whom it is specially prepared. WAGE PROSPECTS IN BRITAIN. “The trend of wages towards that heaven of the economist, an ‘economic level,’ is apparently about to receive another shove behind shortly,” says a Labour writer in an English weeklv. “The dockers, have received notice of another reduction. of two shillings per day, the builders have just negotiated a reduction of twopence perhour. and the railwnymen are buying charms and amulets against the dark hints that their turn is about due. Both dockers and builders are in militant mood, but, as Mr George Hioks told a gathering of builders, ‘the alternative to acceptance of reduction was to call on the building trade operatives to go through the fire liko the miners, the engineers, and other workers.’ “To go through a fire may be_ needful, and commendable, if anything is to be salved, but why risk life and money, in an enterprise which is sure to result in nothing but disaster? “All these costly strikes might be avoided if we had a proper output of statistics. It ought to be' as easy to .find out if wages should be reduced or increased as it is to find out the times of train departures and arrivals. With so many bureaucrats, how is it we are so poor in vital statistics?’’ WAGE REDUCTIONS. The decision of the Queensland Labour Government to apply to the Arbitration Court for a reduction in the salaries and wages of civil servants and other State employees has created wide interest in Australia, and not. a little in the dominion. For some time the Queensland Government has been applauded as the one staunch friend of the civil servants, but now that the shrinking Treasury has compelled the Labour Party to take action the body repre"senting the civil servants has decided by resolution that “in seeking the reductions the Government has allied itself with the employing class, who, since the war ended, hat- devoted its efforts and energies to attacking the workers’ standard of comfort, nml orf/td nnnf.mrv to tßofle hiffh ideals and

principles the Labour movement is founded. The Government’s wage reduction move warrants serious consideration, for it denotes a defection from the true purpose of Labour ideals that wojjld have been undreamt of in days before Labour took office.” i The case for the Government is simple. Unless the financial situation is met with firmness the State is faced with a deficit of £BOO,OOO, and as the basic wage of other workers was reduced some months ago from £4 to £4 ss, it was considered necos-s-irv to reduce the wages of civil servants. Indignation meetings have been held, and. tho State Labour Executive outside Parlia-

ment is'opposed to the Government’s action. Ai. interesting situation has developed, and future developments will be watched with interest. MINERS’ CONDITIONS IN' BRITAIN. The tragic strike in America has given a much-needed stimulus to the British coal trade. How bad the industrial conditions really are may be gathered from-, a few words recently written by an English journalist ; The, minimum wage of a Lanarkshire coal-getter in 1921 was 20s 6d per shift. - ’ Is is now 8s 4Jd. , The drop in Lancashire has not been quite so great, but nearly half the men are only working three days a week. I talked with some in Pendlebury who worked only one day and whose earnings last week amounted to 8s sd. “There are thousands in Lanarkshire with no work at all. Thank God. though, there is nobody starving,’ said Mr Small, the Lanarkshire miner*!’ secretary; and then he corrected himself: ‘at least, we have nO| actual record of, any death from starvation.’ “Mr Robertson, M.P., who has been studying housing conditions in that region of hovels, told me that the misery he had seen on his round , surpassed anything ho had ever seen in his life. There was onn man,’ he said, ‘ insisted on tipping off his jacket and. his shirt to show me how thin he was, and sure the bones were sticking through hfk skin.’ ’’ THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE. The pamphlet on the Third International Labour Conference, which was held in Geneva in October-November, 1921. gives a complete summary of its progress and decisions,. The International Labour Donference is held at least once a year under Part XHI of the Treaty of Versailles, and to which the 54 States, who are members of the International Labour Organisation of the League of Nations, are entitled to send four delegates—two representing the Government, one the Employers, and one the

Workers. “It was a business conference of busy mon and it can fairly be claimed that its achievements were notable,” says the writer of the pampllet. “Fere is a parliament chosen on a new representative system, making decisions of a kind new to legislation since they are, in intent at least, world decisions, and using new legislative methods and machinery. It lias held three annual sessions. of which thi«. the third, ha? been undoubtedly the most successful in Hs immediate remits—there is no prophesying as to the ultimate results of its decisions—tho lest organised, the smoothest in action.” The pamphlet contains a foreword by Lord Burnham, who was president of the conference, and is attractively produced, with a number of illustrations. It has been printed in English and French, and will shortly appear _in Gorman. The price of the English edition is fid. and special terms will 'be given for orders of ICO copies or more on application to the International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland. jottings.

A recent American paper pointed out that, during the month of April, there were 23 labour disputes in Japan, and the majority of these cases involved claims for increased wages. Among the strikers mechanics headed the list, followed closely by traffic and transport workers. The number of unemployed women in re. ceipt of benefit on May 29 was about 85.000. During Mav 8868 women were provided with places in domestic service hv employment exchanges, whi'e during the same month 1315 were disallowed insurance benefit because they refused to accept, the employment, offered ♦-' ♦'mm. f At the end of March more then double the number of persons in England and Wales were in receipt of poor relief compared with the number in M-’mh. 1914. the respective totals being 1,465.600 and 643.600. The figures for March lest also show an increase of 99,000 over those of the nrovious December, when they were 1.366.600. According to Mr James O'Dredv British M.T*.. who has iust returned from his second visit to Russia, it is only a. matter of e few weeks before Lenin mav die. The illness, which is the result of bullets fired at him bv a girl a year ago. is reonrted to lie of p. fatal character. The Evening News of • T ur.e 13 stated that in the event of. Lenin's death. “Another revolution with n renewed rei-rn of terror is predicted bv people who claim to know what ia going on behind the '