UNEMPLOYMENT AND MACHINERY.

Waikato Times, Volume 110, Issue 18441, 23 September 1931, Page 9

UNEMPLOYMENT AND MACHINERY.

(To llie Editor.) Sir, —“ Glosscy ” has summed up Iho picsont condition correctly—unemployment is entirely duo to "machinery—bin lie is moro vague in his solution of flic problem. " If, ns he suggests, tho machines were fciken over by tiie community, [ wonder whether the present powers that lie would be aide to organise industry as satisfactorily as those now in charge. 1 think that tiie organisers of work ami industry (owners of machinery, whether private or combines) deserve t heir share of tiie pay which is called poo 111. The men in power in the world do no I gel this pay and would not be able to organise. Another aspect of the position is that as financial interests dominale tiie work of pnlilieians to a large extent only a revolution could socialise machinery al present. Our present system allows fop considerable llnaneia 1 juggling and slump conditions increase Iho possibilities in this direction. If the workers allow present conditions lo exisl they will he made slaves again. They wiil lose their votes and lie driven by whips and fed like dogs. Already these conditions are seen in tiie case of ihe unemployed in a small degree. There may pe a revoliilinn llion. hut I would like to point out to

" Glossey ” that' there are other ways. If hours were reduced under all awards to the required amount to do the work of production (seven hours per day would suffice in New Zealand) then the workers would once more be secure. The pay for the present would be about the same as now, i.e., less 10 per cent, of the old rates, which the Government considers to he a living wage. However, as machinery Improves the hours would be reduced to avoid unemployment and keep the workers in a position to have their say. Under these circumstances they would contract with the owners of machinery to work for a pay which would represent a proportion of profit under the same principle as sharemilkers do. The workers would be independent and could demand this. Another method would be to offer services at a certain pay—if the employer refuses to give it the worker simply gets another job and the employer employs cheaper labour (men who do not value their services so highly) and would probably find that he would not save anything. The only law necessary is one to periodically reduce hours under the awards for classes of work, and, as wages are reduced on the principle of the cost of living, they would have to be maintained under -the same principle, but as.workers would again be independent they would he able to demand their fair share of the better conditions which the machines have made possible. It is for the workers to move. The first step is to reduce hours and cut out unemployment.—l am, etc., PROPORTION. Tirau, September 21, 1931.