The Industrial World

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20342, 27 June 1934, Page 4

The Industrial World

CONDUCTED BY OBSERVER

This column is devoted to the news of the industrial Labour movement as represented by the secretaries of the various unions whose headquarters are at the Trades Hall. Trade Union News and Views. MEETINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK. The Bootmakers’. Society, to-night, 8 p.m. . . Ex-Tramwaymen’s Association, tonight, 7.30 p.m. .„ n Furniture Trade Union, to-night, cJU The Moulders’ Union, Thursday, t .30 p.m. District Council (Alliance of Labour), Thursday, 8 p.m. The Trades and Labour Council, Saturday, 8 p.m. The Painters’ Union, Monday, 7.30 p.m. Brewers and Malsters’ Union, Monday, 7.30 p.m. The Plumbers’ Union, Thursday, 8 p.m. The International Labour Office. From time to time in this column information has appeared on the work of the International Labour Office. This is due to the fact that there now exists an international organisation whose main function is to establish some kind of social justice in economic relations between countries, and to elevate the conditions of the workers, particularly in the backward countries. The work already accomplished along these lines has won the appreciation of the workers in every industrial country. This appreciation has now received an added impulse by the decision of the American Government to join the International Labour Office. When it is remembered that America has refused to join tire League of Nations, although its own President, President Wilson, was mainly responsible for its creation, it reveals the great worth of the International Labour Office in international affairs. Before the 1930 depression America was supposed to give its workers the best wages and conditions in the world, and consequently it had nothing to gain by joining the International Labour Office. This idea prevailed in the organised Labour movement as well as in organisations of employers. The depression and the breakdown of international trade have brought home to the American people the idea that no country can now live to itself and by itself. The American Federation of Labour supported the Government in its decision to join the International Labour Office. This new addition to the membership of the International Labour Office will give it increased power, which must re-act in the interests of the wage-earners in every country. Naturally, then, all trade unionists in New Zealand should support the International Labour Office by seeing that this country is directly re presented at the annual conference. The Present Conference. As these notes are being written, the 1934 conference is in session. The main question discussed at the conference is the reduction of hours of work. There are fifty countries represented

at this conference, omittiiig the ob;

ers from non-member countries. . The persistence of the depression has forced the problem of reduction of hours into the limelight of public attention, and opinion all over the world has been roused to interest bv the idea that a general reduction of individual hours will permit of the engagement of a larger number of workers. Moreover, the Labour organisations and a number of Governments regard a reform of this kind as the necessary consequence of technical progress, which has gradually enabled industry to produce more goods while emploving less labour. Last year, therefore, the annual conference of the 1.L.0. decided that the reduction of hours was a fit subject for an international treaty. In accordance with its usual procedure it drew up a list of points on which Governments were to be consulted with a view to arriving, if possible, at an agreement at the present conference. The first draft convention proposes to limit tiie average hours of work to persons employed in industry to 40 in the week; the second provides a similar limit for the staffs of commercial undertakings and offices; while the draft convention invites Governments to make every effort to prevent a reduction of hours from leading to a fall in the standard of living of the workers. The conference will be asked to permit a thorough investigation into ‘‘ technological unemployment ” —that is, the effect of technical progress on the volume of labour in the various industries and occupations. A report of the proceedings of the present conference received a few days ago intimated that no agreement was arrived at m connection with the question of the 40hour week. This simply means that Labour organisations in every country must bring pressure to bear on their respective Governments so that an international treaty may be concluded. The Drivers’ Dispute. In a recent publication of the “Transport News of New Zealand” there is a report of the annual conference of the Master Carriers’ Association. The report, in dealing with . industrial matters, states “ that awards have been made in the Wellington, the Gisborne and Nelson industrial districts. While the employers in the districts where new awards have operated are quite satisfied with the terms and conditions contained therein, the employers in the districts where awards are not in operation appear to prefer to carry on without restriction. The reason that awards have been made in some districts is that the Drivers’ Union reresentatives displayed a reasonable attitude and met the employers by agreeing to terms and conditions such as gave a measure of freedom so necessary in times like the present.” The implication in the above report is that the representatives of the unions in places where no awards operate were unreasonable men and consequently it was the fault of these men that no agreements were made. Such an implication is untrue and misleading. The Canterbury Drivers’ Union has offered on every occasion to accept the terms and conditions of the Wellington award. If such terms and conditions are acceptable to employers in other districts, why are they unacceptable to employers in the Canterbury district? To say that the employers in Canterbury will not accept such terms because the union representatives are unreasonable men is illogical.