OTAGO TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19259, 25 August 1924, Page 5

OTAGO TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.

r ihe annual meeting of the union was held in the Trades Hall on Saturday evening. Mr H. G. Murray (president) presided over one of the largest attendances ever recorded, about 60 members being present.

The report and balance sheet of the Board of Management, which were presented and adopted, showed that financially the union was in a very sound position, having £768 8s 8d to its credit. The union adopts a system of placing a certain amount of contributions to the credit of each member every year, and these allotments now aggregate ±1692 3s Cd, leaving a balance of £76 5s 2d in the general account. Pome of the members have as much as £2O to their credit, which can. be lifted under certain conditions. One paragraph in the report is as follows: “During the year an effort was made by the throe associations controlling the employees’ side of the printing trade to induce the employers’ side to consider a superannuation scheme.

io New Zealand Master Printers’ Association and the Now Zealand Newspaper Proprietors’ Association were written to on tho matter. At its annual moating the former body favourably considered it. and passed it on to the latter body, where is appears to have been lost, as no word has been received as to its fate after the newspaper proprietors considered it at their annual meeting. This is to be regretted, as we believe a workable scheme could bo devised whereby employees could receive the benefits of a superannuation scheme on attaining a stipulated age. It does appear to be a gross anomaly that persons who work ■ for the State should be treated differently from those who work for private employers. If the former paid all their suneranmiaticn money themselves there would not bo any reason to complain, but when those who get no benefit from it have to keep bolstering up by large sums of money year by year someone else’s funds in order to keen them financial it is about time such an outcry was raised that would stop this injustice. We believe in a national superannuation scheme, and we have a decided objection to any scheme which favours one section to the detriment of another section. It should be a case of all or none, irrespective of whether a person works for the Slate or for a private employer. All should be put on an equal footing. But sc long as tho people, with their usual indifference, neglect to agitate against this injustice, so long will it remain. The injustice is s,o obvious that it should only require to be pointed out to have it remedied, but rooted custom is so deep that it will now need more force than this to shift it. It is with the object of doing our little part to rectify thi s unfairness that we write this note.” A very full report deal with a number of other matters which directly concerned the trade. The board’s appointment of Messrs W. W. Andrew and K. Baxter to represent the union at the conference in Wellington with the master printers and newspaper proprietors was allowed to stand. The system of electing members of the board was so altered so that instead of each office having the right, to send a representative, eight board members (exclusive of four officers) will be selected at the annual meeting. Previously the board bad the right to select representatives to attend conferences, but the meeting took away this power by passing the following resolution ;—“The appointment of delegates to the biennial, special, or other conferences shall be made by a general meeting or by ballot of members of the union; in cases of urgency the board to have the power to make the selection.” A motion to exempt from fines for nonattendance at meetings members working in Dunedin who have their homes outside the city and suburbs was defeated. Before tho election of officers the salary of the secretary-treasurer was fixed at £4O per annum, and of the auditors £1 each for tho half-yearly audit and £2 for tho annual audit. Those amounts are the same as in previous years. . The election of officers resulted as follows President, Mr W. R. Mlorrison; vice-president, Mr J. L. Cameron • secre-tary-treasurer, Mr R. Ferguson; trues tees, Messrs W. A. Notman and A. Wilson; auditors, Messrs R, D. Souness and Chas. J. Foley; board members —Messrs H. Smeaton, W. W. Andrew, F. Farrell, F. W. Joseph, A. Cormack. G. H. Mitchell, James Wilson, and J. Watson. Twelve members stood for selection. Mr R- Ferguson had previously intimated that he had no intention of again accepting nomination as secretary-treasurer, but at the earnest solicitation of members ho decided again to accept the position. It was decided to give £5 financial support to the Imprint, a paper published in Wellington in the interests of the trade, and to solicit subscribers for the paper. Mr F. W. Joseph presented the president’s medal to the outgoing president (Mr H. G. Murray), and, in doing so, referred in complimentary terms to the manner in which the recipient has filled tho position during his term. A hearty vote of thanks to tho retiring officers concluded a meeting which was full of interest to those connected with the trade, many of the subjects brought forward causing animated discussion.