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■'■■ / Christchurch. Furniture Trade Dispute (before the Conciliation Board). —The evidence was taken by the Board in October, but the case was adjourned until after the award of the Arbitration Court in Wellington was given. The recommendation of the Board has now been made, as follows : —■ (1.) That forty-four hours constitute a week's work, and that the half-holiday be observed on Saturday, provided that the committee referred to in clause 7 shall have power to appoint any other day for any workshop on sufficient cause being shown. (2.) The minimum wages shall be —for cabinetmakers, upholsterers, turners, framemakers, and carvers, Bs. 6d.; polishers, Bs.; mattrass-makers, 7s. 6d. (3.) Piecework according to log agreed upon. Log to be added to or amended by the committee proposed by clause 7. (4.) Overtime as agreed to —viz., time and a quarter to midnight, and double time after that and on Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas Day. (5.) Holidays to be New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Queen's Birthday, Show Day, Anniversary Day, and Boxing Day. Men working on these days to be paid time and a quarter for eight hours, and after that time and a half till midnight, and after that double time. (6.) Apprentices :No arrangement in force at the date of the filing of the dispute herein shall be interfered with. All apprentices shall serve five years. Wages to be : First year, 6s. ; second year, 95.; third year, 125.; fourth year, 155.; fifth year, £1. The proportion to be one apprentice to every three men or portion thereof. The proportion to be gauged by full employment of journeymen for two-thirds full time during the previous six months, but with the exception that in the case of upholsterers a second apprentice can be allowed as soon as the first has served three years. (7.) Men who are considered to be unable to earn the minimum wage shall be paid such lesser sum (if any) as shall be fixed by a committee, consisting of three persons nominated by the employers and three persons nominated by the union, and, if they cannot agree, by the chairman of the Board of Conciliation. (8.) Employers, in employing labour, shall not discriminate between unionists and non-unionists ; both shall work together in harmony, and under the same conditions, and shall receive equal pay for equal work. Employers shall not, in the employment or dismissal of hands, or in the conduct of their business, do anything directly or indirectly to operate to the injury of the union. The recommendation to come into force on the 15th day of November, and remain in force until the 31st day of December, 1898. The Board and the representatives agreed that the holidays should be New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Queen's Birthday, Show Day, Anniversary Day, and Boxing Day ; men working on these days to be paid time and a quarter for eight hours, and time and a half till midnight, and double time after midnight on these holidays. It is understood that the union has agreed to the recommendations. Engineering Trades Dispute (before the Conciliation Board). —Dispute between the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and various employers. The statement filed by the union was as follows : — Hours of Labour: Forty-four hours shall constitute a week's work, divided as follows: August to April (inclusive), work shall not commence (except as overtime) before 8 a.m. or continue after 5 p.m., with one hour for dinner. From May to July (inclusive), 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., with half an hour for dinner, except on Saturdays, when the time worked shall be from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Each day shall stand by itself. Rates of Wages in different Departments of the Trade: The minimum rate of wages for journeymen fitters, turners, brassfinishers, coppersmiths, millwrights, milling-machine men, and blacksmiths shall be 10s. per day of eight hours; pattern-makers, lis. per day of eight hours; for planers, borers, slotters, and other machine-men. 9s. per day of eight hours. Men at present receiving over 9s. per day shall receive 10 per cent, advance on present rates. Young journeymen having served their apprenticeship shall be allowed (if necessary) to work for Is. a day less than the above rates, until attaining the age of twenty-three years, in the shop in which they have served their time, but shall then (at twenty-three) receive journeymen's minimum wage. Rate for Overtime : All time worked, either previous or after the hours named in Rule 1; also New Year's Day, Easter Monday, Queen's Birthday, Prince of Wales's Birthday, Labour Day, Anniversary Day, and Boxing Day, shall be paid at the rate of time and a half. For Christmas Day, Good Friday, and all Sundays double time must be paid. Nightshifts shall be paid 2s. per night extra (three consective nights to be worked before it can be called a nightshift), otherwise overtime rates must be paid. Only one shift out of the twenty-four can be reckoned as a day-shift. Number of Apprentices and Term of Apprenticeship: The number of apprentices in each department of the trade shall not exceed one to every four journeymen, or fraction of the first four. All apprentices shall serve a term of five years before reaching the age of twenty-one years. Outwork Allowance: All time going and returning from outside work, and all travelling-expenses, shall be paid for, irrespective of distance. Outside a radius of three miles from the Christchurch Post-office the rate per day shall be Is. above the afore-mentioned rate in Rule 2. When working at a distance and unable to return the same night suitable board and residence shall be provided. Dirt-money: On all marine repair-work Is. per day dirt-money shall be paid. Members of trade unions shall be employed in preference to non-unionists. This statement proposed to give men a concession of four hours' work per week. The existing wages of pattern-makers were 9s. to lis. ; fitters, 9s. to 145.; turners, 9s. to 14s. ; coppersmiths, Bs. to 10s. 6d. ; millwrights average same as fitters and turners; machinists, 7s. upwards ; blacksmiths, 9s. to 15s. ; planers, 9s. upwards; slotters, 7s. upwards. With regard to overtime, some shops paid time and a half, while others paid time and a quarter, and some paid double rates for Sunday, Christmas Day, and Good Friday. The case was adjourned until the 20th December. Auckland. Tailoring and Shirtmaking Dispute (before the Conciliation Board). —Dispute between the Tailoresses' Union and certain employers—Messrs. Powley, Ehrman, Van Breda, and Smith, Mesdames Lumsden and Jordan. For the union the Hon. W. Jennings, on behalf of the Auckland Tailoresses' Union, said, —-I wish to state a few of the reasons that have led up to the case now before the Board. For a great number of years past there has been a strong desire on the part of the intelligent and best workwomen engaged in the clothing industry in this city to have what is technically termed a " log " brought into operation in the various manufactories. It was felt that if a fair " log " could be established matters between employers and employed would be placed on a fairer; surer, and better basis, and that dreaded evil of the clothing industry, " sweating," would be minimised. A number of the employers also were strongly in sympathy with the movement for the establishment of a fair "log," many of them believing that it would be conducive to better trade, and would also tend to counteract in a marked degree the " cutting " practices that prevailed. That there was need for raising the standard of the wage-earning women of this city was proved by inquiries made

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