THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19282, 20 September 1924, Page 18

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES.

Br J. T. Faux. XO CHILD LABOUR UNDER EIGHT YEARS. Yielding to pressure from the International Labour Office at Geneva, the Persian Government has issued a decree for the protection of women and children in the carpet weaving industry. The decree provides a maximum working day of eight hours, a minimum age of eight years for boys and ten for girls, separate workplaces for boys and for girls, with forewomen to supervise the girls, exclusion of workers with contagious diseases, prohibition of underground or damp workshops, monthly sanitary inspection of workshops. WHOLESALE DISMISSAL OF CTVTL SERVANTS. About 400,000 employees in the Civil Service of the German Government have been sacked since April 1, when the Government began upon a large programme of “economy.” Of these 232,134 were manual workers. 30,217 office employees, and 134,507 petted officials. Percontually, the largest number of workers dismissed is that of married women. Of 3600 married women in civil service on April 1 last, only 93 have been allowed to retain their places. The dismissals mean that the State has got rid of 2? per cent, of its workers, for before April 1 the Federal pay-roll showed 1,592,214 persons. The Government figures that the savings in salaries alone amount to 434,000,000 gold marks, or 15.3 per cent, of the entire Federal _ Budget. To this roust bo added the savings ‘‘in rooms, heat, light, and materials of various kinds.” EIGHT-HOUR DAY. The eight-hour day appears to bo making progress in Canada, according to a statement issued by the Department of Labour. The survey covered 690,317 employees in various branches of industry, and of this number 374,274, or 54.22 per cent., were on the eight-hour day or the 48-hqur week or less. A similar survey made in June, 1918, covering 612.393 employees, indicated that 43.4 per cent, were on an eight-hour day or loss, with 5.4 per cent, on a day of 8i hours. There is a wide divergence in the percentage of employees on the 48-hour week in different industries. The following percentages were given: Logging, 19.23 per cent.; mining. 62.61: manufacturing (includ jug publishing and production of electric current), 33.81; construction. 21.04; transportation. 91.50; communication, 84.65: trade, 62.45; services (including municipal employees, hotels and restaurants, laundries, hospitals, INCREASING UNEMPLOYMENT IN RUSSIA. Unemployment in Russia has continued to increase steadily since 1922. In October, 1922, t,i o number of unemployed in 70 capital towns of departments, including Moscow and Petrograd, was 508,200. In February, 1924. this figure had risen to 812,000. These figures ar© not altogether complete, in view of the fact that they deal only with 70 towns out of 90. According to information quoted in the Industrial and Labour Information, the weekly publication of the International Labour Office, the Commissary of Labour takes the view that on January 1, 1924. the number of unemployed registered at all the various labour exchanges was i.230.0u0. Account, should also be taken of the fact that not all the unemployed are registered at the exchanges, with the consequence that the real number is higher than the figures given. Unemployment is particularly common among intellectual workers. Next come unskilled labourers, and skilled workers third. Among the intellectual -workers, Soviet employees and the teaching profession are chiefly affected by unemployment. Among the skilled workers the chief sufferers are the metal workers, textile workers, and the masons. STATE BRICKWORKS EXTENSION. The New South Wales Notionalist Government has decided to make large additions to the State brickworks in order to cope with the heavy public demand for supplies. For many months past the State works have been unable to supply all orders flowing into the office, and it was felt that the works should be extended. The work of extension has already been ; placed in hand, and when the additions are completed production will bo greatly increased. So successful has been fhe operations of the State brickworks since their creation in 1911 that £82,326 borrowed from the Treasuvy, has beon repaid. In addition, out of profits, the management has spent £31,962 in amplification works. On a selling basis of 53s per 1000 bricks, as against 72s by the Combine, the works last year realised a net profit of £23,879. That is over 20 per cent, on the capital cost. It would be interesting to know what profits the Combine is making, seeing .that it sells its bricks 19s'per 1000 dearer than the Stateowned works. apprenticeship CONDITIONS. What may bo accepted at least in part as • the employers’ view of the progress being made under the Apprentices Act is contained in the following extract from the New Zealand Industrial Bulletin: “Parties in one locality ore making recommendations to the court without having any regard whatever to the interests of their fellow-employers and-workers in other localities, and the result of these local con- | ferences is to destroy in apprenticeship matters the very uniformity which the pro- ' oedure for dominion awards was enacted to , ensure. ; “So far six apprenticeship orders have ' been made by the court —two of them in 1 the one trade-—yet no two of the six orders ( are identical even in general principles, f It is conceivable that if the present practice of adopting the recommendations of the 1 parties without any regard to the effect of j the same is continued it will tend to wreck ‘ the whole system. Instead of the court J hearing the parties, and then proceeding to : make orders in terms which it considers fair J and equitable, it has invited the parties J to dictate to it the terms of its own orders 1 and, in most oases, those have been agreed upon as a result of compromise. Not only J has the court failed in its duty in respect ? of the general orders, but it has delegated 1 to Apprenticeship Committees all the powers it can delegate without over having suggested (o the committees the manner in which they should function. These committees are framing their own procedure, with the result that whilst a bare majority decision of those present at a meeting will ( in some cases make the committee’s decision r effective, in others a. unanimous decision of (- the whole committee, and not merely of those present at a meeting, is necessary. n Unless greater interest is taken in the administration of the now Act and the coin- r mittees assisted to function, it is more than a probable that the intentions of the Legisla- r ture will bo defeated through the apathy * of all parties concerned, and the Act itself j become a dead letter.”

INTER N ATT OX AT, CONFERENCE OF WORKING WOMEN. Recently published in England is the report of- the conference of the International Federation of Working Women, held at Vienna last year. In a brief review, a writer in the Labour Woman says;— “On the subject of trade union organisation the conference arrived at definite conclusions, including:— “(1) That whore men and women are employed in the same industry' they should bo organised into the same union. “(2) That each country shall endeavour to conduct an intensive campaign amongst women and girl workers, giving particular attention to the lowest paid workers. “With respect to international Labour legislation, the conference l urged Ujjon all workers’ organisations the desirability of their working with greater energy for the acceptance of the recommendations of the international Labour conventions, by their several Governments, in favour of a minimum standard of work, such as a universal eight-hour working day. “On the question of world peace, the Federation sets forth its views in no mistakablo manner, and stands for the policy of settling ail international questions by open negotiations. It has no illusions about war as a patriotic and glorious profession, and regards such a view as being fatal to lasting peace. “Amongst other questions dealt with are homo workers and family allowances in payment of wages, etc. “It is interesting to note that no fewer than 13 countries were represented at the conference, including delegates from Chili and the Argentine.”