INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12614, 17 November 1911, Page 5

INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES.

(Press Assn.— By Telegraph.— Copyright.) LONDON, Nov. 16. 1 Tlie - Miners' Federation discussed a resolution in favor of an immediate ballot en the general strike question, but an amendment to make efforts to secure; a- settlement without a strike was carried by 368,000 to 228,000. .The minority chiefly represented the South Wales and Northumberland men.

The Independent Labor party's resolutions at the Birminghaim conference were in opposition to Mr Will Crooks' Labor Dispute Bill and declaration of a general strike if the abolition of picketing was attempted. The Great Northern Railway have increased the minimum wage to the lower grades, with an advance of a shilling a week to those already receiving the new minimum scale. "«'■-■• SYDNEY, Nov. 16. The constitution of the Board to deal with the wharf laborers' troubles is completed. At the request of both parties Judge SchbLes, president of the Industrial. Court, agreed to act as chairman, foregoing a portion of his vacation, conditional on the men resuming under the agreement existing before the. trouble. The representatives of the .-men agree to put .the matter before • the proper au- • thorities, arid^are sure, that they will do the, best possible to fulfil the condition. The, wharf laborers have resumed at the Adelaide Company's wharf. At all other - wharves'" ,woik .is proceeding steadily. TIMARU, this day. ; The Timaru Waterside Workers': Union invite shipping agents .to confer before the 25th inst. on a aiew agreement re«wages, hours, arid other conditions.' They ask Is 9d and 2s 6d per hour overtime (6 to 10 p.m.), for.^i'diriary steve-. dbring work ; 2s and '■" 3s >for manure;'-.-cement and coal woik';^ after 10 p.m.v,: overtime at 3s 6d and 45. .'. The number of a gang for different work is specified,. and the contents of slings^and straight-.',, out preference on the usual conditions.- C INVERCARGILI,;. This day. "The Arbitration Court had a busy day .yesterday, and continued the* sitting' last evening. The Inspector of Awards , asked for an interpretation of the awai'di) governing ,'the sawtnilling -■' industry. "A"' man. had been employed by the, South-.', land S'awmiUing Company as assistant yardman until last' January, ' wnen he" was put on tailing out at' the breaking^' up bench. The Department contended that wHUer ■ perforrning this . work the- • man was doing work "as tailer-'otit, for which he was entitled toV 9s per' -d&yV,; but he had been paid only m. *Mr Pryor contended that Anderson had "'rib* 5 been employed as a tailer^ut, butts' 1 assistant henchman, for which he -vja#> entitled to only v ßs per. day. After, evi*; donee, .his .Honor said that the irispector' r; •was-not entitled to succeed. The J onus had been on the inspector to prove thjtt , the work involved was tailer-oiit wor'feV; c and this he had failed to do. "*«, The Conciliation Council agreement in , the. case of the Bluff -Waterside Workers v. Union Company and others. w,as made', an award, an objection by Mr Pryor to. have the Harbor Board joined being upheld. ';■.•; Awards have also been made of agreements in the cases \ of the Slaughtermen's ; TJnion, Carpenters and Joiners, and Bluff shed bands. In the case of the General Laborers' Union v. Borough Council and otheris, the wages clause in the men's claim "had not been agreed to, and tho union appealed to the Court. Mr Glass, in support of the claim, .said that the average loss. of time per: year for various reasons was 75 days for laborers, so that evert -if a man were paid 9s per day he averaged only 6s .64. • Incidentally he /mentioned -that ifcew figtif e^ -t^6n , ff^rii; 'the Labor; Department Journal:. showed .the cost of 36; articles-' in Wettihgton to be- £3 2s' lid > as -against- £3 7s lO^d ,in Invercar-v gill. Bents .were also; going ; up in * leaps and bounds.- Mr, Pryor asked that the Harbor Board be exempted, and that the;; award be based on that ruling in 'Duhedin. Tnyercargill, he said, was a comparatively cheap town to live in. Decision was ..'.. reserved. The Court also reserved decision iri. applications for awards'' by tlie building laborers, road /contractors' '[ ; and local bodies' laborers, 'drivers, and gasworks employes, the points in dispute in all cases being as to increased wages. In / the gasworks case Mr Pryor objected to the Gasworks Union being . incorporated with the general ; body of laborers, in view of the possible effects of a general strike. • '