THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21598, 19 March 1932, Page 18

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES By J. T. Paul. It is altogether likely that man stands at the close of the first chapter of his machine age. It was the chapter of mechanical evolution. Now, or soon, he must enter the second chapter. It is. the period of social application.— Mr R. W. Kelso in the North American Review. BOY LABOUR AND FARMING. That it was introducing unionism to farm labour conditions was the suggestion made by Mr D. B. Higgins, president of the Matamata branch of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, when urging that the conditions laid down by the Matamata Unemployment Committee, with regard to the employment of city boys on farms, should be abolished. He instanced the condition of a regular half-holiday, which would be very hard to comply with. If the Unemployment Committee laid down hard and fast rules as to holidays, food, and hours of work, it would find that the scheme would not work. Farmers simply could not carry out such conditions. It was wrong to spoon-feed the boys; the committee should let them come and take -their chance. What was required was more of the pioneering spirit. It could be guaranteed that the committee would not send boys to homes which were unsuitable. The matter was discussed by the Unemployment Committee, when Mr G. G. Griffiths, in disagreeing with Mr Higgins s views, said that because farmers were more or less up against it, it was no reason why all conditions relating to boy labour should be relaxed. The true remedy was to introduce economies into the business of farming. Farm life had to be made attractive to city labour, and this conld not be done under bad conditions. . . ■ , ... , Mr G. G. Bell said the committees effort was a genuine one to inculcate a liking for farm life among boys who were bred in the city of Auckland. There had already been nine applications for boys by farmers who were prepared, to give employment under the conditions laid down. He did not think Mr Higgins s views were those of the majority ot The secretary remarked that several farmers had called at the committees office and stated that the half-holiday was unworkable. , . , ~ It was generally agreed that the condition should be that time for reasonable recreation should be allowed; this could be done between milkings. A letter was also before the committee from the Future Farmers’ Committee, Auckland, to which it was decided to forward a resume of the Matamata Committee’s work to date, and to ask *or suggestions.

HOURS AND' EMPLOYMENT. Italian Government offices, the provincial and municipal authorities, the public utility services and all establishments in any way under State contio were recently instructed by the head ot the Government to prohibit, until turther orders, all persons in their ernploy ment from working overtime on ordinary working days and to forbid all work on Sundays and holidays. . In this connection attention may be drawn to an aritclo on Labour Quota Arrangements recently published in an Italian newspaper, which points out that work is a duty and a right, and that therefore when there is not enough work to go round it should be evenly distributed. All night work and Sunday work should be forbidden in the .first place, while everyone should be obliged to give up a part of his work so that all may be employed. UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF IN VICTORIA. It is anticipated that the sub-committee appointed by Cabinet to go into the question of unemployment relief, will recommend a scheme under which single men would be given two days’ work a week; married men with un to two, three, or four children (yet to be determined), two days a week, and married men with a larger number of children, in the second class, three days’ work a week. The committee believes that this is the minimum amount of work the State can offer as a means of meeting the situation. The cost would he approximately £55,000 a week, or £2,860,000 for the full year on present registrations. In .addition to this amount provision would also have to be made for about 13,000 unemployed married arcl single women, as well as administration expenses and other contingencies. On the basis referred to at least £3,000,000 would be required to finance the scheme, or double the amount that has been provided for actual relief this year. A Bill embodying the Labour Government’s scheme will be submitted to Parliament when it meets in April, nnd it is reported that the Government intends to stand or fall by this measure. This may constitute the issue for a general State election, to take place, perhaps, in June. It is expected that as soon as Parliament meets the Opposition will challenge the ■Government. RAILWAY BONUS SYSTEM CONDEMNED. Following a special investigation into the administration of the New South Wales railways, particularly the workshops, Mr W, B. Rogers has furnished his first report to the Lang Government. The report deals with the payment of the bonus system, devised for speeding up the workers. In his report Mr Rogers stated-that the departmental claim that increased output resulting from bonus work cheapened the cost of production was an illusion. If comparison was made on a reasonable time basis, day work was cheaper. Slackness in supervising, recording, and accounting made the system as a basis for paying out large sums of money a breach of public trust and an imposition on the taxpayer. A summary of Mr Rogers’s findings is as follows: 1. Assessed time standards were set at an absurd and extravagant level. 2. Time recording, on which the accuracy of. the whole system depended, was impracticable, and the records were unreliable.

3. Large sums of money were paid out annually on such unreliable records. 4. Bonus was paid on unsatisfactory work as a regular practice. 5. No check or audit was made on any phase of the system, which was open to fraud and manipulation in every direction.,

During the year ended June 30 last, he said, £44,861 was paid out under thd system in the mechanical department alone. Bonus systems seemed to have been adopted as a short cut to bigger output, and as an alternative to proper supervision. There was no such short cut.

“The majority of the workmen," continued the report, “ will not accept bonus. The sum ie accepted in secret, and to meet such cases the commissioners arrange to pay it surreptitiously. “ This is tantamount to bribing a man to do what he is paid to do, and must weaken discipline and bring the administration into contempt in the eyes of the large number of employees who will not accept bonus, and despise those who do. “ The department contends that if bonus is abolished the output will drop. This is entirely a matter of proper supervision. “The department has the right to demand a fair day’s work, and no union can deny this .right. A union would not bring ridicule upon itself by asking that its members should not do more than one hour’s work in five, a condition which, conversely, the department regards as highly satisfactory. “ TKe bonus system has been in operation at Eveleigh since September, 1918, at Clyde since 1920. An assessing officer, after trial, fixes the time standard for each bonus job. If the workman beats this time, the time he saves is valued according to the wage he is paid, and half the saving is paid him as bonus. Once the time standard is set it cannot be altered unless other methods of doing the job are evolved. Certain jobs are specified as bonus jobs. Men only earn bonus when working on such jobs It becomes of vital importance accurately to record when men go on and off bonus work. If this is not done employees can adjust work to earn large bonus. “ If time assessment is reasonably efficient, it would be difficult for men ordinarily to beat it by over 30 per cent. It is common for men to do in one and ahalf to two hours work they are allowed 10 hours to perform.” Mr Rogers quotes 794 cases and cover six pay periods in which men did in less than four hours work they were allowed 10 hours to do. In 49 cases this time was made on bonus plans introduced during the last two years. Men are frequently paid three days’ pay for one day’s work under this system.