THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20708, 4 May 1929, Page 20

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES.

' By J. T. Padl.

POINTS IN AWARDS. Opinions concerning points of dispute in ■ the clothing trades employees’ award and the painters and decorators’ award have been delivered by Mr Justice Frazer in the Arbitration Court. His Honor was asked to define the rates that should be paid to a clothing trades employee over the age of 21 in the second and subsequent six months of her employment, and to a worker who attained the age of 21 after six months from the time she commenced at her trade. In the first case, his Honor held that a. worker should be paid £1 10s for the second six months, fl 15s for the third, and thereafter the full; journey-woman’s rate. In the second case, a worker should be paid f 1 7s 6d for six months, and thereafter the rate prescribed in the first case. In reply to the point raised by the Painters and Decorators’ Union, his Honor decided that no worker should be required to work more than five hours without ap interval for a meal, except in case? o! emergency, such as causing delay in unslipping or undocking vessels. In this case the time could be extended to six hours, and time and a-half rates be paid for the ,extra hour. This was agreed to by the parties, and the court has decided not to amend the clause in the award. WALTER THOMAS MILLS. In the current number of the New Leader (London) I notice the following, written by .“A. F. 8.,” which will certainly interest those who met the versatile gentleman when he visited New Zealand some 16 years ago;— The Telephonist: Professor Mills, from America, to see you. Myself. What? A funny little man three feet high, with a face covered with hair? There came a sound of great laughter overthe telephone. Professor Mills had heard my description as well as the telephonist! It was just like him to laugh. He is, always laughing and making others laugh. Those who were in the Socialist movement 20 years ago will remember him. His oratory and humour-won for him a great reputation, ■ I .emember him- addressing. a great international demonstration at the Royal Albert Hall. MacDonald presided, and the speakers who preceded Professor Mills were Hardie, Jaimes# and Vandervelde. The audience began to leave but Professor Mills’s first words riveted them. His speech was one oi the triumphs of the evening. He has come back to this country (says the Leader) to assist in the general election campaign, because he believes a Labour victory would be the most decisive event for good in the world. Particulars 5 s 1,18 engagements and where applications must be made for meetings, STATE INDUSTRIES, i Discussing tbe various prescriptions for the cure ol unemployment, in a speech the ß SoHf Mr F al £ er Rnnciman said wmilHmfv remedy bv nationalisation would make what was had worse. The tate . i°“ ]d not compete with great comft T l ' - Drawing an amusing picture of the slow process through which matters went in the civil service, he said a communication was received by a good faithful second division clerk, who sent it to a first division clerk; he .passed it on to an assistant secretary,- who sent it to . n d vir •& CMS Ste " Th Then k 'f wen i the rayerße process. The whole system of the civil rp^ll e, 'urd 60 f d ’ ‘ seems to be to remove toTc f lT o,n T? e grade of offlcer rinff Efi; 6 bmlier. If you attempted to “ a -H°“ all . se , *b e commercial side of the S’™* industry you could not destroy that and you could not act quickly enough You would never be able to inculcate into our civil service the X hich - ? reat commercial men take mercantile risks, and bv that One n of g thow ade . from otber c °untrk£’ Une of the worst processes in the region t 0 ? et a State Department to adopt new, ideas. State Departments must work on precedent and precedents were of no earthly good when it came to new inventions. SAFEGUARDING ARBITRATION. Labmlt of Queensland said recently that .Labour had made it part of. its nro. , If h ?’/ s of ?be Go verm jnent, had carried out its policy and imposed it upon his own supporters, he was &£* ‘W'VmSE r%S; f Labour’s opponents get control hey will soon drop arbitration. They will B o°n get the Workers back to the want to set tl. of th °i Sß em Ployers who oid conditfot.’’ 16 W ° rkerS back t 0 wanted d to no e P f 'h“l e arbitration, THE WORLD STATE E Cr?w of Edinburgh University. - He s-iid MiCe must' p™rish. 8U Hunmn"ty developmK^ r an e °fiecti^ aS wi'] an fo^ afl ftt fi treated the whole of the world as its ‘ inp prevent tbe growtii of this idea and ideal. Frontiers could bring armies to the halt, but thev “Si $-• r™ of iH on the road to the inevitable world league Iri M U L tima tely fee whole of mam reuuiH-nhln V lnt ? one community remarkable for the variety of its eomin 'which every kind of quality would be adequately used in an atmosphere of toleraSee „d unde" fact emerefi( i clearest from history—the progress of society had ever been dominated by the simple vet fundaSr for T f f T tbinkers. and ne\er for ong by the exhortations of the demagogue If a world unity were the desired and ultimate aim of mankind, then it was to science that they must look for tho means of its achievement. UNEMPLOYMENT IN QUEENSLAND A general election will take place in Queensland on Saturday next. The mra* 11 P f r ! ; 1 y bas been in office for 14 years, and the Labour Premier’s recent remarks on unemployment were consequently of more than ordinary intmest. 3„J r .l m,er sa,d that il WBB an effect, under the present order of society, that was due to many factors. One of these was the reorganisation of industries, consequent upon new machinery throwing large numbers of people out of work which was causing great changes i n ‘ some cases one girl was doing 'the work T« nt .,, f r«. er i. y^ aV T nnl P'°ymont to 10 men. io say that the Labour Government was responsible for that was idiotic. Those factors were affecting every country in the world. The importation of luxuries into this country from nations that did not deal with us was doing great damage to the social system. The payment of £20,000,000 year'y tg America for motor cars was keeping American workmen employed and Australian workmen unemployed. On top of this the fuel that drove the cars was also imported. Everyone in the community suffered because of the economic change. No Government could prevent the change, and no politician could say that it was not causing unemployment here. If all the money that was going out of Australia remained here for the development of Australian industries it would solve the problem. Yet people forget that that was a cause of the economic problem. “The dislocation taking place,” proceeded the Premier, “is bound to create unemployment, when we are not manufacturing articles so largely used. Another reason for the deuerssion is that there is

a distinct attempt by the banks and financial institutions to limit credit and try to prevent the importation of luxuries and the extension- of the time-payment system. The banks can cause more dislocation by the limitation of credit and mak more unemployment than any Governmen can do.” ■ PROTECTING APPRENTICES. Complaints that provisions under the Apprentices Act are being abused by some Auckland firms were made in the Arbitration Court during the hearing of apprenticeship appeals in the furniture trade. In some cases, said Mr A. H. Dixon, secretary of the union, firms were going out of business, not because of bankruptcy or liquidation, but of clpsing down the cabinetmaking and upholstering departments. This appeared a simple way for employers who wished to free themselves of apprentices of doing so when they had no further use for them. The Apprentices’ Committee in the past had helped employers to place apprentices in cases of closing down, but the practice was becoming a habit. Instances were quoted of employers being in business nine months—the alloted time before an employer might engage an apprentice —and after registering an apprentice, applying to transfer him because of closing down. Some closed down as manufacturers and bought their furniture as retailers, and others said that owing to lack of work they could not keep the apprentices employed, “It often means that journeymen are thrown out of jobs when the quota of other firms’ apprentices is added to. The competition of cheap boy labour is unfair,” said Mr Dixon, who added that the committee had always assisted employers to place boys. His Honor agreed it was unfair, but said the onus was on the original employer to find employment for v his apprentices when he went out of business. “The general order was not intended for cases of employers closing down, or changing their line of business,” said his Honor, “but for genuine cases of hardship.”