THE World of Labour

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 866, 18 November 1916, Page 12

THE World of Labour

TRADES AND LABOUR COUNCIL HALL. MEETINGS FOR THE WEEK. SATURDAY Typographical Special Meeting. SUNDAY—Christadelpliians' Mission, 11 a.m.; Public Lecture in Social Hall, 7 p.m. MONDAY—Amalgamated Society of Engineers, No. 2 Brunch; Amalgamated Society of Carpenters' Union. TUESDAY—GeneraI Labourers' Union; Bricklayers' Union. WEDNESDAY—Bootmakers' Union; Public Lecture in Social Hall, 8 p.m. FRlDAY—General labourers' Finance Committee, 7 to 8.00 p.m. DRIVERS' DISPUTE. AUSTRALIA'S LABOUR SPLIT. Drivers throughout the country ai/e very angry with the Arbitration Court because of its recent award in their industry, and at a meeting of the Auckland members of the union the following resolutions were carried: — "That this meeting of Auckland motor car and horse drivers having duly considered the recent award made by the Court of Arbitration in connection with the drivers' dispute, refuse to submit to the unjust conditions laid down by the court." (1) a. "The Court's finding clearly demonstrates that the employers' aim and objects, which were frequently commented on when Mr Scott was re-appointed to the court, have been fully accomplished." b. "In the opinion of this meeting 'this court has absolutely failed to make fair and reasonable provision in accordance with the weight of evidence produced, and the conditions existing in the industry." c. "The court has no longer the confidence of this body of workers; its decision clearly shows it is prejudiced strongly in favour of the Employers' Federation." d. "That this meeting strongly urge the. Government to set up a Commission to inquire into the unjust treatment meted out to ihe drivers of this Dominion by the Court of Arbitration." e. "'Further, a copy of the facts, features, and evidence submitted to the court in the Auckland dispute be forwarded to all members of Parliament and Labour unions throughout the Dominion." f. "That a deputation wait upon the local organisation of transport workers, to place the facts before them and ask for their co-operation in this matter." Resolutions Endorsed. These resolutions have been adop-

A Column for Workers

Conducted by D. G. SULLIVAN

ted also by other drivers' unions throughout the country. Mr Davis, secretary of the Auckland Union, sent a telegram to Mr McCullough, workers' representative on the Arbitration Court, asking whether he approved of the court's decision, and Mr McCullough replied in the following terms: "Certainly did not concur; strongly dissented against wages, stable attendance, and four hours for cleaning motors." The union decided to thank Mr McCullough for the fight he bad put on their, behalf and its regrets that his efforts have met with such a rebuff. Explaining some of the reasons which had impelled the union to take the drastic action indicated by the resolution, Mr George Davis, the secretary, stated that in the first place the men bitterly complained that they had had to wait for a whole 12 months for the award. They had met the employers all over the Dominion, and the other side had not endeavoured in the slightest respect to meet them. The union had gone so far as to ask them to make them an offer, but they had refused to do so, thereby demonstrating that they were quite prepared to go to the court, confident that they would be leniently dealt with. In many respects no counter-proposals had been submitted, the employers repeatedly stated that consideration of the claims put forward by the men was merely a waste of time. A Four Shillings Increase. Briefly what the union demanded, continued Mr Davis, was a minimum of £3 a week with graduations according to the number of horses driven. The old wage was £2 8/-, which the court itself had admitted was a starvation wage. They had been given an increase of only 4/pcr week to meet the huge increase in the cost of living since the old award was made three years ago. This was the lowest increase yet granted under any award during the period of the war. In 1899 an agreement was arrived at by which single horse drivers received II- a day, or £2 2/- a week. At the same time the butchers entered into an agreement by which they received £2 2/- and £2 3/-. To-day, under an award given at the same sitting of the Arbitration Court, as determined the Drivers' Award, the butchers were given £3 as against the horse drivers' £2 12/-, a difference of 8/-. Similar comparisons could be made with various other classes of labour, showing clearly that the court had meted out to the drivers treatment differing greatly from that accorded any other class of workers. The

court could not say that it was ignor- ; ant of the comparative fads he had | mentioned, as these were plainly put before the court at its Rotorua sitting. Eight months ago the drivers were assured that their case would be decided after evidence had been taken in Wellington, but from there j the court bad been to Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill, and back to ' Auckland, and the last hearing affecting the local union was the one at Rotorua, held 11 weeks ago. It had taken the court 11 weeks to announce its decision, and some of the ! members of the union, namely, the motor wagon drivers, were under the disability that they were not working under any defined conditions. The case had cost the Drivers' Union £SOO, and all they had got was -!/- a week increase. Durack v. Holman. There were some interesting passages in the debate between Mr Durack, the new leader of the New South Wales Labour Party, and the Premier and late leader, Mr Holman, on the former's want-of-confidenee motion moved in the State Parliament. In the course of his address Mr Durack said: "The Premier has not treated the electors in a right and proper manner.—(Hear, hear.) Nolice of motion was given by me that tlic present Government no longer possesed the confidence of the House. Immediately the parly should have intimated they either had no majority with which to legislate, or else that they had an understanding with the members of the opposite side. I say that the Premier had no right to carry on the business of the House for an hour after the notice of motion. He should have told the House and the country at once that he had no majority. He unquestionably at one time bad a majority in the House, but we find now that the party is a party of 18 members, excluding those on active service. The Ministerial section —they have been called by the Press the brains of the Labour 'Party (laughter)—is carrying on with 18 members, while on the other side there are 38 members. It is perfectly clear that Mr Holman has no majority in the House, unless he has his majority from the others, and if that is the case the party should know it. "The Labour Party in this House and in this country refuses to support any Ministry which adopts the altitude' on conscription which had been taken by the honourable Minister. (Uproar, Opposition jeers, and laughter.) I wish to touch upon the abusive tactics adopted by some Ministers of the Labour Party in the conscription campaign. (Laughter and ironical cheers.) I say that we who were opposed to him are as loyal to the Empire as any other members." (Uproar, during which the Speaker named the hon. member for Randwick.) The Speaker: Mr Durack has an onerous duty to discharge. It is his maiden effort, and I would ask hon. members to give him a good hearing. As Mr Durack resumed, Mr Price interjected, "What about your I.W.W. mates?" The Speaker asked him to withdraw "the offensive remark," which he did. "I say that my career will stand the test of loyalty," continued Mr

Durack, "and I believe the career of those with me will also stand it. (Interjections and laughter.) In' dealing with the attitude of the Ministerial Party upon the conscription] question I only wish to deal with some statements made by members of Mr llolman's Ministry, in trying| to couple those members of my party who conscientiously believed they! were taking the right course in the conscription campaign, with the 1.W.W., and in the insinuating that they were receiving German money. I resent it bitterly, and my party re-j sents it. I do not object to anyone saving we are wrong, but it is political indecency to make such statements as those I have referred to. I make this challenge, that no one can! say (hat any member of my party,! or any member of the P.L.L. executive, is a member of the I.W.W. (interjections). I have never said that the lion. Minister's Government were supporters of the black labour pol--1 icy. But I think they were making an honest mistake in taking an attitude that I believe would have the ultimate effect of absolutely overthrowing Labour's White 1 Australia ideals. Mr. Hoi man. Mr Holman on rising to reply was greeted with cheers. After paying a tribute to the ability of Mr Durack who is a young member and express;ing regret that (hey found themselves lon opposile sides, he defended him-1 self against the charge of jerryimandering the electorates, he went on to say that all that members of the Labour Party were bound to was the Labour Party's platform, and that the matter of conscription on which he had been attacked was not in the platform, so that he was within his rights in exercising a free choice and in advocating conscription. The Suicide Club. Mr Holman then detailed the ramifications of the last P.L.L. conference. The industrial section, he said, was 122 strong, and each member of the 25 or 27 elected by that section to the executive had signed his resignation and left it undated. He understood that those resignations had been handed to the chairman of the industrial section or to Mr Doyle. One or the other held the resignations, and in the event of any member showing a mind of his own the resignation was simply ' dated and handed into the secretary. (Laughter.) That was the suicide club—(loud laughter)—which has now been formed under the operations of the new industrial section. The Labour Platform. "The Labour platform may be read from end to end," continued Mr Holman, "and no mention will be found of conscription or anti-conscription. But the word compulsion bristles on every page. There is even compulsory service mentioned, in the words 'citizen army.' It was a measure approved by a Labour Government, supported and inspired by the whole Labour movement of Australia. Yet we are told that compulsion is hateful to democracy. I have never, during my 20 years in the movement, heard it before. I do not wish to drag up the ghosts of a campaign that is now over, for it is over, but there is nothing at all in our platform to prevent us from taking any personal action in the matter of conscription. I repudiate the hypocrites who declared that there was no room for a Labour member except in the anti-conscription campaign. The Labour movement might say tomorrow that no man shall be in the Labour Party unless he adopted a certain religion, but it would then be a Labour Party plus a religious belief. No man could arrogate to himself the right to tell another what he shall think and do. Mr Durack says that all of his colleagues are members of the Labour Party. I say that I am head of the true Labour Party, which stands for freedom and dignity, and those are the principles we have won in spite of terrible difficulties. (Hear, hear.) Broken No Plank. "I contravened no Labour principles; I have broken no Labour plank," proceeded Mr Holman. "What is it that happens now. I find myself held up as a pariah and a traitor. And by whom? By the yery men who, when they first heard of the action taken by the P.L.L, executive, united with me in a joint protest. What are they doing now? They are bowing before their tyrants, they are kissing the rod with which they were beaten, and they have gone back to their masters. (Cheers.) While members of my party stood by me, I stood up for them to the last moment. (Cheers.) It was not until hon. members were faithless to themselves that we were compelled to look elsewhere, and seek an alii-: ance upon the fundamental concep-j tions of Australian democracy. (Cheers and counter-cheers.) They are freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and freedom of action in Parliament. We are to be governed by Parliament, and not by a junta. (Cheers.) The Labour Party has upheld that principle, and it has succeeded Ifecause it asserted that principle. I have fought for years against the men who sought to upset those doctrines. There was no man who sought to tear down those principles but 1 fought, and we, as a party, fought against him. And what do we get? I defy any man to find a flattering word about me in the official organ of the P.L.L. The situation now is this: The bargain made with the movement has been ruthlessly broken. The ties of companionship, which have lasted over 20 years, arc no more. After 20 years' faithful service I find myself condemned by the official mouthpieces of the movement, thrust from the I position I have held as one of the trusted spokesmen of the movement, J and deserted by my own Parliamentary colleagues in the hour of trial. The Broader Movement. | "Under the circumstances," coni tinned Mr Holman amid a storm of I cheers and counter-cheers, "1 am prepared to throw my lot in with the broader movement, the national movement. It is a movement which is free from the pettifoging, machinemade tyranny, which has done so much to disgrace the Labour movement. I am still animated by the ideals which moved me 20 years ago; ! ideals which not I but those who j worship the machine have departed from to their loss and to the great I harm and mischief of the life of Australia. (Cheers).