THE RIGHT TO WORK.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 147, 28 July 1914, Page 6

THE RIGHT TO WORK.

BRITISH LABOUR PARTY'S BILL.

SINCERE ATTEMPT TO SOLVE A PROBLEM.

From a Special Correspondent. WELLINGTON, .luly 27. It is doubtful whether the Labour movement is gaining any "mana" through the little party which calls itself Labour in the present House of representatives. There is a good deal of cheap tinsel about the efforts of these politicians. The weakness of their position seems to lie in the fact that some of them have never been in the Labour movement proper, and never consult anyone who has had experience in the movement. Since the Mill's unity scheme practically wrecked the Trades Councils of the Dominion, there is no party capable of making any concerted move towards definite legislative proposals. The members now in the House seem to get hold of some platitude that does duty for policy among alleged Labour men, and seek, not to advance the proposal, but to gain a cheap advertisement out of it. j Mr John Payne's Right to Work Bill ■is a case in point.. This Bill proposes jto establish the principle of the right of the people to work. The measure consists of five clauses; first, the nauie of the Bill, and second, the interpretation. Then come the three clauses which are supposed to contain the kernel of the scheme:— "3. Th'e Governor-in-Council shall make such regulations from time to

time a? may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act." "4. Every worker in the Dominion of New Zealand, and who is a resident therein not less than.six months, shall have the right to work and" receive £ minimum living wage for his or her services.'' "5. Immigrants who have been induced or assisted by the State to come j to New Zealand, shall have the right to j work, and shall receive a minimum | living wage for his or her services imI mediately on. arrival at any port in the ! Dominion.'' If there is anything mor.e stupid in the history of the New Zealand Parliament than this Bill it* has escaped the writer's notice. NO DEFINITE PUEPOSE. This Bill makes no provision for conjtrol; it makes jio provision for finance; lit does not even state who is to be held I liable to find the work. It is true that | some vague person called "the Gover- ! nor-in-Council" is to be "empowered j to make regulations for the purpose of ; carrying out the provisions of this

! Act,'' but the necessary provisions j have been completely lost sight of. It J would seem that the only items in the i Bill of any value to Mr Payne are, the | title and the several sentences inj which '' the Right to Work' 'appears. It iis quite clear that one of Labour's | many stock phrases has been worked I into a Bill without any idea of utility. | So long as the Labour men occupy | their time in introducing Bills that I lack definite purpose they cannot hope Ito obtain respect from their fellowlegislators. Labour cannot live by J advertisement alone—only newspapers j can do that. i How different was the Bill on this j subject introduced in the House of j Commons by the British Labour Party. J The scheme as drafted indicates clearly |tha,t the British Labour Party i's I actuated by sincerity in its efforts toj promote the Bill. Care and thought j have been taken in its preparation, and ! it is made clear that the Bill was intro-

duced with a more definite purpose than for mere advertisement. THE ENGLISH PEOPOSALS. A great many people in New Zealand ; have been talking loosely about the ! Bight' to Work Bill. But 1 have not met the man in the Labour movement, or elsewhere; who had any definite scheme, even in outline. Very few are even aware of the contents of the I British Bill. Like the general strike jand other fantastic schemes, they have I borrowed the whole outfit from some- ! body named Karl Marx. or De Leon, j and have fired it off like so many I parrots. I When the British Labour Party inftrodueed their proposal into the

; British House of Commons they fixed ] the responsibility for financing the

i scheme upon the local bodies. County i Councils were, held responsible except iin boroughs with over 20,0()0 of a i population. AH expenses incurred were I to be raised out of rates levied on the | respective areas. Before an unem(ployed person was entitled to employI jiKut under the scheme he had to be a j resident in the area for at least six j months. After he had registered him- | self as unemployed, the local body was j required to find him employment 'within six weeks. But, "if the man was offered and refused work upon any scheme for providing employment, or Avas offered and refused other employment upon conditions with regard" to wages and hours of labour not lower ! than those which are standard to the [work in the area, the local unemployment authority shall' be released of its duties under this section towards that person.'' DETENTION OP UNEMPLOYABLES. Many of the men who are professing to voice the opinions of Labour in this j Dominion have spent many harsh words upon condemnation of imprisonment. "What will they say of the British Labo«r Party, which actually made provision in its Bill for the detention of unemployable**? The clause reads: — " Wlien the local unemployment au- j thority are of opinion that unemployment in any case is owing to deliberate and habitual disinclination to work, they may report the case to a Court of summary jurisdiction, consisting of ! two or more justices, and the Court I having given the person reported upon I an opportunity of making his defence, ' may, after it is satisfied that such j person habitually and without reasonable cause refuses to work, or, having been provided with work by the unemployment authority, has failed to perform that work with reasonable diligence and regularity, commit, him int) the custody of the central unemployment authority, to be detained in that custody on a reformatory colony for a period not exceeding six months, and if the person escapes he may be apprehended without warrant and brought back to the custody in which he was placed.'' LOCAL BODIES TO FINANCE SCHEME. The schemes by which work is to be found were outlined, and included the

I establishment and maintaining of farms and forest schools, and the establishing of reformatory colonies for persons who are too tired to work. The financing of the scheme was absolutely controlled by the local bodies affected. But there was provision for the setting up of an unemployment committee to work in co-operation witli the local authority in the carrying out of the works. The Bill provided that (a) "a majority of the committee should be appointed by the local unemployment authority from their own members; (b) the authority, or, in other words, the local body, can appoint other persons having experience in industrial or agricultural organisation; (<».) one-fifth of the committee to be selected from nominations made by trade unions; (d) the chairman of the committee to be a member of the local body controlling the scheme." This committee; however, had no power to interfere in the striking of rates. Their only power lay in the initiation and management of suitable work for the unemployed. Many other important clauses are contained in the Bill, but sufficient has been here outlined to show that, when the Labour Party introduces a measure* it does so with some sincerity of purpose. Without doubt the best thought in the party was put into the scheme. JOHN PLOWMAN.