THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22835, 20 March 1936, Page 3

THE INDUSTRIAL WORLD

NEWS AND NOTES By J. T. Paul. If the real happiness of mankind is to be saved and advanced in the twentieth century, the spirit of social peace will have to prevail, as Well as that of world peace.—Mr J. L. Garvin. “NO APOLOGY TO OFFER.” Quite recently (writes "Industrial Tramp ” in the Auckland Star’s “ Labour Notes ”) Mr R- Semple, Minister of Public Woaks, incurred the severe displeasure of the Auckland Carpenters Union, by his outspoken references to the “ white anting ” tactics of the Communist party, which were made in a letter from the Minister to the Standard, and reproduced in this column. The union carried a resolution resenting the remarks by Mr Semple, and considered “ the inelegant language of Air Semple entirely 'unwarranted/' , In reply to this resolution, Mr Semp'Je, in a letter to the Standard, says:— I have no apology to offer for anything 1 have said in connection with the Communist tactics in general, and the definite effort they have been making and are making to-day to ‘white ant’ the Labour movement, both industrially and politically. Throughout this country there rs ample evidence to support my contention, Irdeed, the Labour Party was compelled, many years ago, by amending is constitution, to prohibit Communists from joining its ranks. This action was taken after very bitter experience, not only in New Zealand, but also in Great Britain and in other British countries.” Further on in this long letter, Mr Semple says; 1 wish to inform this self-appointed tribunal that takes upon-itself to try to condemn other men in their absence, that I have never deviated one step during the whole of my life from the principles that 1 have held to be sacred so far as the Lalxmr movement is concerned.” Critics outside the Labour movement, adds the writer, have often preferred the charge that Labour and Communism are interchangeable terms, and one is in collusion with the other. These utterances of the Labour Minister should be a complete answer to such unwarranted criticism. BELIEF OF UNEMPLOYED. An interesting indication of the organisation and extent of unemployment relief half a century ago is given in the following statement by the Premier, Mr (later Sir Robert) Stout, published in the New Zealand Herald of March 10, 1886, in reply to a deputation which had complained of conditions among those out of "'‘‘With regard to the impossibility of men maintaining their families on less than 5s a day, said the Premier, he would wish to state what the position of the Government w r as. The rate of wages had been quite as low as that on more than one occasion since the formation of the colony. In 1881 the pay to married men was only 3s 6d a day. “ The Government looked on its granting work to the unemployed as only n casual thing. No Government in this or any other country had ever laid it down as part of its duty to provide work. What the Government was now doing should be looked upon as only temporary and intended for those who could not get work elsewhere. . “The House had voted only something like £2OOO last year for helping the unemployed and that was more than expended, so that the Government was spending unauthorised money, hoping Parliament would indemnify it.” MINERS AS FARMERS. A scheme for the settlement of unemployed Welsh miners on the land has been announced by Mr P. M. Stewart. Commissioner for Distressed Areas. An estate of CSO acres in the Yale ot Flamorgan has been bought by the Commission, and is to be placed under the control of a newly-formed Welsh Land Settlement Society. This estate is the first of similar agricultural land which is to be acquired in various parts of Wales. All the settlers are to be unemployed married men between the ages of 35 and 45 living in the depressed areas in Wales. During the vear houses will be built equipped, and selected applicants trained in land cultivation. They will be.paid minimum agricultural wages during training. and will receive a share of the profits. ' In the model village which is to be created houses will have a living room, seullenr. bathroom and three bedrooms, and will be let at 4s a week. WORKERS IN GERMANY. Germany to-day presents an appalling picture of misery among workers and workless alike (remarks a Labour paper). Wages are falling, food prices are rising, and the unemployed, without money, are in the same predicament as their comrades who are working for scanty wages when the question of buying standard articles of diet has to be considered, owing to the shortage of supplies amounting to complete absence in some parte of the , country. Industry is becoming more and more disorganised owing to the shortage of raw materials, which is affecting the output ot most factories. The financial position is becoming more precarious than ever. The armies of State secret police, spying and persecuting, mishandling and murdering the workers whose racial, political, or religious standpoint fails to conform to Nazi standards, continue to grow. Figures compiled by the International Labour Defence organisation give the following lietails regarding the terror in Germany since March, 1933, based on Nazi-published figures:— , , Anti-Fascists killed, 4870; legal proceedings against anti-Fascists, 5425; antiFaecists found guilty, 20,883; total number of years in gaol; including penal servitude, 39,792; years of detention ordered in concentration camps, 100,009; death sentences on anti-Fascists, 110; executions, 60; death sentences commuted to pemil servitude for life, 33; anti-Fascists awaiting execution, 17. NATIONAL INSURANCE. Addressing a public meeting at Lithgow, New South Wales, Sir Frederick Stewart, who has just resigned from the post of Federal Parliamentary Under-scc-retary for Re-employment), declared that the time was approaching when a socia* insurance scheme should be undertaken throughout Australia. , , Tie pointed out that the British worker, by paying Is 8d a week, became entitled, in certain contingencies, to remarkable benefits; 17s a week, with 0s a week for bis wife and 3s for each child. In New South Wales a worker on £4 a week paid Is lid a week in unemployment tax, and one on £5 a week paid 3s. He did not even get the right to relief work unless lie could first prove he had eaten out all his resources, or that he was close to it. Unemployment taxation of £6 000,000 a vear was collected from industry in New South Wales. He looked forward to the time in Australia when a scheme of social insurance would supplant other social sorVl< Sir Frederick Stewart advocated a 40hour week and the launching of a', housing scheme for workers. He regarded the introduction of machines as aiming at tne abatement of laborious and monotonous human work, but he did not think that Providence intended that all benefits, financial and otherwise, from its use should flow in one direction, and all economic disabilities in another. AIDING UNEMPLOYED YOUTHS. A way of helping* unemployed youths was suggested at Rotherham, England, bv Mr Alexander Williamson, who is general manager of an important stce firm. He said that on the one hand there was a large number of unemployed youths, and, on the other hand, a sliort;,sc of skilled labour. He proposed .centres in industrial areas for those between the ages of 16 and 25. They might, be given six months of intensive training in a limited number of skilled operations so that they might be taken into industry trained to one-third the capacity of fully skilled men. ' Then, he says, we should have to adjust our skilled operations, ns we did in the war years, to permit of the use of partly-skilled labour of this kind. In time those equal to it would achieve a degree of skill which would enable them to be classed as skilled men. PIECEWORK IN RUSSIA. The planning organisations of the Soviet Government (says a Labour exchange) arc now engaged revising the work tasks of every industrial and transport worker

in the country. Millions of workers are waiting anxiously for the announcement of the new ‘ norma of production,” as the basic tasks are called in Russia, which will enable them to compute the degree to which the Soviet Government expects them to work harder during this year and the probable effect on their wages. Distinctions are to be created for determining the wage of every worker, because the Soviet authorities are convinced that the piecework system has brought incalculable benefits to Soviet industry. They believe they can encourage the more efficient and energetic worker still more by making him stand strictly on his own. As a result of the Stakhanov Movement, a great disparity in wages paid has developed. Because piecework prevails, the Stakhauovitcs have been earning from five to 40 times as much as less-efficient or less-energetic workers. The new ‘ norms, it is expected, will reduce the degree of disparity. „ The upward revision of the norms affects every worker in the country, and there have been indications that many workers do not like it, nor the Stakhanov Movement which has led to it. Under this new overhaul of the piecework system, all forms of equalisation which arc still in operation, such as paying wages based on the aggregate production of brigades of workers, instead of to each individually, will be wiped out.

COMPULSORY SOCIAL INSURANCE. . According to information received by the International Labour Office, in the social insurance field there are at present 130 compulsory accident insurance or workmen’s compensation pension schemes in 54 countries, 45 compulsory sickness and maternity insurance schemes in 31 countries, 75 compulsory invalidity, oldage and widows’ and orphans’ insurance schemes in 30 countries. Compulsory sickness and maternity insurance covers about 90,000,000 persons, and compulsory invalidity, old-age and widows’ and orphans’ insurance covers over 100,000,000 workers. When the new United States legislation comes into operation in January next the number of persons insured against old-age will be over ] 25,000,000. . , ~ . The legislation on industrial accident insurance or workmen’s compensation is much wider in scope, but it is impossible to give a general estimate of the number of workers covered. . The list of schemes mentioned above is by no means complete. For instance, it mentions only incidentally for certain countries the legislation on compulsory insurance for railway workers, although everywhere these workers are covered by special schemes. No mention is made or insurance legislation for the officials ot the State, provinces, departments, or communes who are also covered by special schemes in nearly every country. If all the general and special schemes of compulsory insurance and workmens compensation and the non-contributory pension schemes could be taken into account. it would be seen that there are at present some 400 laws for the protection of the workers or their families against the risk of industrial accidents, sickness, maternity, invalidity; old-age, and death. This information is taken from a general study on the whole question entitled Ihe International Labour Organisation ana Social Insurance, in which the I.L.D, gives an account of the work done ana the results obtained in the field of social insurance during the pasti 15 years. This study first survey? the historical evolution of national social insurance laws, throughout the world, in order to i Uustrate the national developments on winch the action of the International Labour Organisation has been based. It gives an account of the conditions m which international regulations on social insurance have been drafted and tne reasons leading the International Conference to adopt the particular solutions embodied in the draft conventions and recommenclations concerning workmen’s compensation for industrial accidents, sickness insurance, and invalidity, old-age and widows and orphans’ insurance. , This study shows the growing place occupied by compulsory social insurance in the work being done in every country for the establishment of social security.