DOUBTFUL PROSPECTS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 46, 31 March 1914, Page 6

DOUBTFUL PROSPECTS.

TRADE UNION CONFERENCE.

TO DISCUSS THE ARBITRATION ACT. From, a Wellington Correspondent. WELLINGTON, March 29, Still another conference. Some m6nths ago the Ohinemuri Mines and Battery Employees' Union sent out invitations to unions to attend .a conference. The suggested subject for discussion was the Arbitration Act. Politics yvere to be rigidly excluded. This is the union that now replaces the Waihi Miners"' Union, of stormy memory. In Auckland city the trade .union secretaries have registered themselves under the style and title of the Union Secretaries Association (Kegd.). They resented the suggestion that "the Ohinemuri Union should ' presum.e .to call a conference of unions. By way of counter-blast, the Union Secretaries Association issued an invitation to "genuine Arbitration unions "'-to attend a conference in opposition to that which emanated from Waihi. GENERAL APATHY.

This conference is due to take place at the Trades Hall, "Wellington, on April 14. It is claimed by -the promoters that between 40 and 50 '' genuine Arbitration unions'' have decided to attend'. But the order paper containing the remits for discussion does not indicate any great desire on the part of any number of unions to make their presence felt. As a matter, of f,act the whole order paper only contains remits from five unions: th£ Petone branch of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, the Wellington Bricklayers, the Canterbury Coachworkers, the Auckland Brewery Employees, and the Auckland General Labourers.

THIRTEEN AMENDMENTS SUGGESTED. The Petone Engineers seem to have taken the matter seriously.! They suggest some thirteen amendriients to the Arbitration Act,- mostly of -a minor nature. Their principal proposals, are: (a) To prevent the registration of new unions where a union is already registered; (b) to strike out of the Act any penalties which may now be/ imposed for inciting, instigating, aiding, abetting, or assisting an unlawful strike; (c) to strike out of the Act the special penalties with respect to : strikes and lock-outs in certain specified industries such as coal-gas, water supply, and, so forth, and (d) to have a court consisting of five members instead'of three as at present. i: •• The Wellington Bricklayers,,wish to have the employers cited by advertisement. That is the sum total of their ambition. ' TWO COURTS WANTED.

The Canterbury Coachworkers wish to have two courts—one , * for each Island. The fact that the judge has now to fill in a lot of his spare time doing Supreme Court work has apparently been overlooked.

The Auckland Brewery Employees wish to form Labour Councils in the various districts to deal effectively with all matters affecting labour.. Another excepting perhaps the adverb. DRASTIC RECOMMENDATIONS.

Finally, the Auckland General Labourers:—(l) That conference take no steps towards forming any new federation or amalgamation of unions that does not (a) co-operate with the United Federation of Labour; (b) affiliate with the United Federation of Labour.

(2) That the conference urge the necessity of all unofficial reports of union meetings appearing in the newspapers being signed by the person reporting for the newspaper, and that unions be given the right to sue for libel or slander.

(3) Before the Arbitration Court alters any agreement filed for ratification by the Conciliation Council that said court be requested to show cause why such agreement should be varied. DUNEDIN AND WELLINGTON ; WARNED OFF.

Taken altogether the business might reasonably be disposed of in a couple of hours. The Dunedin Trades Council has recommended the Otago Unions not to take part in the conference, and a similar recommendation went forth from Wellington. It is felt by many of the unions that the conference business has been somewhat overdone. In July last a regiment of ufcion officers

sat for a fortnight solemnly wrangling about unity and brotherhood. The cost to the unions could not have been less than £6OOO. Since that time invitations to "conference" are not received with a glad hand.