PEACE IN INDUSTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20586, 8 December 1928, Page 24

PEACE IN INDUSTRY.

AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE. .f' ■ ■ ARRANGED AT LAST. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SIDNEY, November 29. After months of negotiations the preparations for a “Peace in Industry Conference ” in Australia have at last been completed, and the representatives of employers and employees will hold their opening session at Melbourne on December 6 and 7. Sir Wallace Bruce, of Adelaide, a former Lord Mayor, will preside. The conference will discuss questions relating to unemployment and machinery to prevent and settle disputes arising in industry, the development and encouragement of industries in Australia, and any other matters the delegates might bring forward. Such a conference will not be held before its time, and whether it will serve its purpose is a‘matter which has yet to be proved. Those who know official Labour in Australia' are not optimistic, but nevertheless they welcome the conference as an encouraging sign of the times. As the Melbourne Herald pointed out the other day the real significance of industrial turmoil in the Commonwealth is hardly recognised hr the average citizen. 1 Nearly 1,000,000' Australians, or about one-sixth of the population, are members of trades unions. The number of separate organisations is 759, with 1641 branches. Of these 25 have memberships of more than 10,000 workers each. From these figures can he visualised the immensity of the trade union movement in the Commonwealth. It touches and influences the Uvea of at least one-half of the popul&tioiij and probably more* "A study of the statistics dealing with industrial unrest,” says the Herald, prompts the thought that if the trade union movement set itself out to disrupt the industry, it could hardly have promoted more unrest. It is hardly believable that last year Australia suffered 441 industrial disputes, involving 944 establishments, and affecting 157,581 workers directly and 43,157 Indirectly. These disputes, all of which were avoidable, resulted in the loss of 1,713,581 working days. In one year Australia lost the equivalent of the work of 6000 workers. Six thousand workers can create an immense amount of wealth in a year. What they produce would probably maintain at least five times as ?nr Ple ‘ , }° SS ‘ n was f 1,610,696, and the loss in production very much more. Surely if the workers realised the tremendous amount of damage these figures show them to be doing they would not want to strike.” It is questionable whether statistics of tins nature, remarkable though they be will influence or impress the workers in any way. Ostensibly the unions are out for justice”—their view of it—and they aie prepared to make sacrifices. It seems that the problem will have to be tackled from another angle, and it will be the duty of the conference to discover that angle. Generally Labour has co-operated very well with the employers in arranging, the conference, and this may augur well for the discussions. At any rate, high hopes are entertained that a basis will be reached for a better understanding between the two sections. Members of the British Economic CW mission-:; The Big Four ”-who are now in Australia have spoken of the success of similar conferences in England, and they have been invited to the Australian conference. They should be decidedly