Trades and the Workers

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 530, 6 December 1928, Page 6

Trades and the Workers

By

"ARBITER "

UNION MEETING DATES Thursday, December 6 (to-night) Boilermakers Thursday, December t> (to-night> Electricians Saturday, December S Flourrnillers Painters Monday, December JO Saddlers Monday. December lo Curriers Tuesday, December 11 Storemen Tuesday December 11 A.S. Engineers . ’ ■ ember 11 Tramway Workers Ti sdny, December 11 Stonemasons Wednesday, December 12 Plasterers L.R.C. Wednesday, December 12 Gas Employees

Awards Hang Fire Several awards affecting the workers in Auckland are being held up on uo , count -t tlic disorganisation of the Arbitration Court. Indications are that this city will not sec the court again until about February or March. A , • :•.« an-up sitting is to begin at Well- i i' gton during this month. One of the ; disputes to be considered is that of j lit* sheet-metal workers, which comes up for hearing at Wellington on Do- ! cember 11. Mr. R. F. Barter, secretary | at Auckland, will leave here on Sunday , evening to watch the men’s interests. Labour s Big Day Preliminary reminders are being 1 given of the blaster Conference of the j h i hour Party, which is to begin at I Wellington on Monday. April 3. 192 *. | The conference, which will have an ini- j port ant bearing upon the future policy of Labour, will discuss in review the j events of the year, and will receive re- j ports from the National Executive and j ir jm the Parliamentary Labour party, j Cmcers will be elected and remits are j to be presented for discussion. Xurain- i ations, to close on January 10, are now ! being received for the positions of j president, vice-president and secre- I tut y-treasurer. * * * Unemployment Reaction Although the festive season is close at hand, and the prospects for the general outlook are srood, there is still a largo number o men to be seen around the unemployment bureau in the early morning waiting for something to turn up which will give them lift over the Christmas period. For ;c while it appeared as if the tide of unemployment was receding steadily, but surely, and this reaction is not encouraging to those who are looking forward to industrial prosperity. Labourers —the most numerous among the workless —have no ne\v jobs to go 10. and the work that is being opened up as a prospective field of employment is practically negligible. Just before the wool sales a number of men were required to handle the. t.tufX preparatory to classing and inspection. One store wanted about half a dozen men. Over 200 turned up for tho jobs. # The Trouble Germ 'Oie trouble germ has been operating in trade unionism at Home. Luring tho last 12 months the trade unions have made a vigorous stand against the Communists, and the moral of this is pointed by the Railway i'jerks’ Association, which asks for an inquiry by tho General Council into the proceedings and methods of disruptive elements within tho trade union movement (whether such elements manifest themselves among the unions or within the General Council itself) and to submit a report, with recommendations, to the affiliated organisations. Is This Victimisation? It is known that trade unionism in Auckland, as elsewhere in New Zealand. is weak. Bosses are inclined to take advantage of this. It l'as been brought to the notice of “Arbiter" that in a certain trade the union secretary was in the habit of visiting the men at the lunch-hour to persuade them upon the advantages of union membership. Just before the time of his arrival the employees of the Arm received a notice sponsored by the directors, reminding them that "it is preferred that employees should not be members of the union.” . The implication of the reminder is clear. If a man has the temerity to loin the union, his job is jeopardised, but on the other hand the boss can say what ho likes and do what he likes without tho restricting hand of the organisation to keep him in place. if workers in New Zealand are going to stand for this sort of thing, very well let them take what is coming to them. But what can a union > secretary do for men who will not help themselves? The men in this case were storemen and the Arm was a city Arm of merchants. ... Secondary Production It is good to observe the genuine attempts on the part of the Manufacturers’ Association to encourage the buying of New Zealand goods and the greater production of stuffs within the Dominion. True, there is an exceptionally wide held for the development of secondary production here, and the manufacturers should have the support of the people in their endeavours

to sco it exploited. It is hopelessly unsound, of course, even to suggest that the* farmer cun be disregarded as a factor in industrial progress—particularly in a country of the situation and geographical appointments of New Zealand—and those who discourage their primary producing efforts arc simply asking lor trouble. But manufactures must go on, and if the Dominion receives its due within the next few years both primary and secondary industries will forge ahead hand in hand, so to speak, and provide that volume of output which will justifiably cater for both parties. The fact which interests the workers is that with development must come the employment of more men. Wo need ;. greater field of employment, and the increased production of the primary sidt* this season indicates the necessity for speeding up in factory working. * % * Justice as Well as Charity A poignant message was given by a professor of sociology of tlio Catholic University at Washington to the preachers who preached charity, not justice. "Charity must go hand in hand with the application of the principle of justice in social and industrial relations.” he said. "Those who arc interested, in practical works of charity must ever strive for the improvement of social and industrial conditions.” He declares that in every city in America there are large numbers of workers whose earnings cannot maintain them and their families in health and decency. Industrial hazards. illness and occupational employment all combine to reduce Iris earnings. "So long as the wealthy use their power to increase their wealth and to pay the workers less than living wages, poverty will increase.” We Cannot Help Yet When J.urtl Lovat was in Auckland recently no propounded a scheme of migration under which New Zealand was to assist in absorbing British coal miners in agricultural pursuits here. Our own houso has to be placed in order first, however, and it will be long before wo are able to take anyone from overseas and absorb them with economic comfort. The distribution o£ British miners in Canada lias been declared by Labour members of Parliament to uo a success, though 800 have been sent back. Most of tin* men who are going home ar»s either physical "misfits' or individuals who are unwilling to go on wiin tho strenuous work of tlio harvest fields. Following upon personal investigations among the British harvesters Mr. David Kirkwood, M.V., reported that of the 1.500 men in the Saskatoon district, only four had not been placed. "The miners are satisfied,” he declared. “The average wage received Is three to four dollars dav.\ , and so mo are receiving five dollars. Their first experience at the job, -a.t which they ore unaccustomed, was hard. r J hey nearly broke their hearts and backs, but the farmers with when, they were working encourage l them to go ahead. They did so and they are satisfied.” Industrial Spies Industrial heads in Germany have made allegations against the French occupation authorities of maintaining under the shadow of tho occupation an extensive organisation for spying upon industrial processes in the German industries. This work is entrusted to agents of tlio French Surete, or sect ct police. Some time ago three German employees of a great chemical firm were arrested by tho German police in occupied territory. Their conduct in the works appeared suspicious, and they were subjected to a personal interro* gat ion, while the police at. the same time examined their dwellings, m which important documents came to light. From these documents and from the prisoners’ confessions emerged erusliingly decisive evidence that the tmee men were in the service of the French police force and supplied to l-’rench agents de surete technical information regarding the chemical industry'. Tho arrested Germans have described liow the French hemits bad approached them emit* shameless-y, assuring »h*e» that they could not be touched by tlie Gerxnin police, as tlio occupation authorities would, if necessary, intervene to protect them. Further, they threatened them with arrest by tho French authorities if they delivered inaccurate information, and -warned them that they would not b© safe from French revenge even in unoccupied territory.