AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

Southland Times, Issue 19480, 1 April 1922, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

BRITISH MANUFACTURERS CONDEMN DISCUSSION AT IMPERIAL CLUB (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, March 30. (Received March 31, 1020 pan.) The Imperial Industries Club gave a din>er to Sir Joseph Cook, Australian High Commissioner, who in the course of his •peech, dw&t on the progress made by Australia, making special reference to the opportunities for establishing factories there, a.- Australia was destiined to become one o: the greatest manufacturing countries in the world. Discussion on the address developed somewhat tense differences of •pinion verging on bitterness regarding the •ttraetiveness of Australia for branch factories of British firms. Mr George Pearson, representing the Burloughs Welcome Company, said he regretted that his firm’s experience hardly justified F-r Joseph Cook’s optimism. Theirs was the first British firm to establish a branch E Australia, as far back as 1902, at Waterloo. a suburb of Sydney. What was the Jesuit? A wages board under Government es fixed scandalous rates of wages for Bm - lied labour, making profitable development. practically impossible. After twenty year experience he was convinced that Australian labour conditions must be changed before British or any other capital would be responsive. “We struggled to make our enterprise successful and would have been able to do so had we not been faced with >rc< hedly impossible conditions. For in •lance, the trade unions insisted on drivers «t nionary engines being paid the same fa - -locomotive drivers, which is manife fly absurd. ' r Joseph Cook, intervening, exclaimed: Tb not so and never has been so. Mr Fcarson retorted-: All I know is . to submit to this perfectly idiotic feipo.ii ion. >:r Joseph Cook replied: I say. you are rr, ’-g, absolutely wrong. Mr Pearson: I,.shall maintain we were I' a ; lied to pay skilled men’s wages to unJkiU..; workmen. Even now after the *• r conditions have passed, I am compelled pay wai rates of wages. I am still protat’.ng against skilled rates for absolutely unskilled labour. If 1 wealth expects British capital to be m- psted in Australia, the first thing the f'jniin on wealth must do is to direct their -re long established and might reason•Hy expect now to be able to pay our way. b ‘ - f, i when we made provision to meet I'anour - editions we found ourselves faced v ih . icrential Federal and State taxation. ' r Joseph Cook retorted : Combined I r ->r J ami State taxation was on twelve I" per head, as against twenty-four in Britain.