OTAGO TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 63

OTAGO TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION.

I The thirty-fifth annual me&ting of tEs | Otago Typographical Union was held in/ the Trades Hall on Saturday evening. Mfl, A. E. Rissmann (president) occupied the! .chair," -and over 50 members were present.! Following are the principal clauses in thereport ' of. the board: — Your board has to state that the .year" haa bean an important one in the annals of tba , union, inasmuch as it is now working undeii' awards of f the Arbitration Couit in Tespeof{ ' ' to both hand and machine wort. The parties! , • to the disupte in the iand case agreed ttf/ accept an aiwaxd on 'the same terms as th©^ court would subsequently decide in the Canterbury typographical case, said these terras wer© awarded accordingly- v Tiis meant ami increase of ; 5s in th« weekly wage — ail in-« crease which,, in view of all the circum-i' stances, was well •merited. -In the machine 3ispwts, as well as in that of the countryj districts, the parties w«t« successful in ar- ~. ranging terms without tihe intervention of the court, who ware simply called upon ta xnake -.an award of &» conditions agreed upon/ in conference. By this award linotype and! monotype operators' wages "were raised 4f,making tie rates S£3 10s and £3 16s per week' ■for day and night work respectively. Mono-, line operators' wages remain the same aa formerly— £3 '6s,— which is 6a more than the court awarded in th© other centres. While; trade was gooS during the first "half of -fchei year, there -was oonsiaeraJble slackness dur-* ing the ■second half, and tiis. together with) a material increase in membership during the later period, led to a heavy unemployedß list. ?Ebere is a measure of comfort, h-ow-i ever, in the knowledge tha/t the busy searßoni and a general >«leotion are .approaching, amcl theg« two factors will doubtless mean a few months' feeedom -from anxiety. The board also expressed its dissatisfaction at the decisions of th© Arbitration Oourft in two cases recently before it in connec« tion with the union. The balance sheet shewed the revenue off the union to be on the up-grade. Sub* scriptions for the rear save £135 lls 3d!and interest £23 17s 2d. The year opened? with a credit balance of £685 10s 7d and closed with a like balance of £731 9s 5d tf or an increased credit of £45 18s lOd. The President, in moving th© adoption? eff the report and balanec sheet, .said; the report dealt fully with all matters - connected with the union, and therefore ife " ' was not necessary for him to elaborate oni it. The motion for the adoption of the report and balance sheet was seconded by ; Mr W. Cole and carried. The Trades and Labour Council > having* endorsed the following resolution passed at the recent conference of Trades Councils' in Wellington, submitted it to the union, for consideration: — "TPhat this conference urges upon the workers of the Dominion toi vote no-license, with a view to placing the trade under the control of the State." The board, recommended -that the course which; organised labour has followed in this city, for a number of years is the correct one. — viz., to exclude the liquor question from th© political issue. — The meeting unanimously adopted the recommendation of tha board. „ An appeal was made to the union for financial .assistance to a body of unionists on strike. — The meeting adopted th© fo!-< lowing resolution: — "That this union endorses the action of the Ofcago Trades and liabour Council in refusing assistance to unions which have deliberately defied the? Arbitration Oourt by going out on strike."A vote of thanks was passed to Mi? M'Oullougli {workers' representative on the Arbitration Court) for the attitude he had; taken up in connection with the Ohxisb* church farm labourers' -dispute. Tiie follovrin^f ofixeexre w&3:-& -eieot-ect fox- -fcll^ r -ensuing year: — President, Mr W. TJBomp* «on ; vice-president, Sir il. T, little ; secret tary, Mr A. Walker j auditons— Messrs C Jr. Foley and Wm. Baird; treasurer, M* R. Ferguson ; board members for 'th© trade — Messrs A. E. Rissmann, T. G. Tiley, and H. Smeatonj delegates to the Trades aiwf Lal»ur Council— Hon. J. T. Paul, R« Ferguson, and O. Foley. ■ It i« the custom to present a memento^ to th© retiring president. Mr Thompson, (the incoming .president), in presenting Mr Risffmann with a gold medal, said the recipient had spared neither time nor energy ' in forwarding th© interests of the unioa.-^ Mr. Rissmann suitably replied.