XXXVII

H.—ll

The reference before the Board was as follows :— (1.) That no master baker shall employ any baker more than nine hours per day, including sponging, or a total of fifty-four hours per week, exoept in oases of emergency, when time and a quarter shall be paid. (2.) That the minimum rate of wages shall be as follows: Fore-hand, Is. per hour; second hand, 10d. per hour; third hand, 9d. per hour. Jobbers shall be paid Is. per hour. All hands receive dry pay. (3.) That no person shall be employed as an improver (other than those already engaged), and any boy or youth learning the trade shall be duly bound by indenture for a period of four years. " Improver " shall mean any person other than an apprentice, or a journeyman, or a member of employer's family. (4.) That preference of employment shall be given to members of the Operative Bakers' Union, providing the employer is aware of any member of that union who is able, willing, and competent to do the work required. (5.) That no suspended member of the Operative Bakers' Union be employed until he has complied with the requirements of the said union. (6.) That, in consideration of the master bakers agreeing to the foregoing conditions, the Operative Bakers' Union shall and do hereby agree. (7.) That any existing engagement between master and improver shall be exempted from clause 2, and shall continue to be exempt while he (the said improver) remains with his present employer, providing that the said improver shall, upon leaving, be considered a bond fide journeyman. (8.) That any member of this union accepting a situation and not being competent to fulfil the same shall be fined 10s. for the first offence, 20s. for the second offence, and for the third offence be expelled from the union. (9.) That any member leaving his situation without giving one week's notice, or not working the same after receiving notice, will be fined 10s. (10.) That no member of this union shall work for any employer who unduly endeavours to undersell or cut down the price of bread. It was explained that " dry pay " means full pay in hard cash as distinguished from a weekly wage with deductions for board or other considerations. The recommendation of the Board was read by the Chairman, as under : — Before the Board of Conciliation in the Northern Industrial District. In the matter of an industrial dispute between the Auckland Operative Bakers' Industrial Union of Workers and [here follow names of master bakers cited]. The Board recommends : (1.) That no master baker shall employ any baker more than fifty-four hours per week, including sponging, except in oases of emergency, when time and a quarter shall be paid. (2.) That the minimum rate of wages shall be as follows: Fore-hand, Is. per hour; second hand, lOd.per hour; third hand, 9d. per hour. Jobbers shall be paid Is. per hour. All hands L to receive dry pay, with the option of boarding with their employers. (3.) Any boy or youth learning the trade shall be duly bound by indenture for a period of from three to five years. Three months' probation may be allowed, which shall be included in the term of the indenture. (4.) When an apprentice lives in the house of his employer the scale of wages shall be as follows : Three years' period—ss. per week first year, 7s. 6d. second year, 12s. 6d. third year, and found; four years' period—4a. per week first year, 6s. second year, 10s. third year, 12s. 6d. fourth year, and found ; five years' period—3s. per week first year, ss. second year, 7s. 6d. third year, 10s. fourth year, 12s. 6d. fifth year, and found. (5.) That an apprentice who has eerved a term of three or four years may be an improver for not more than one year with another employer, at a minimum pay of £1 ss. per week, dry pay. (6.) No other class of improvers shall be allowed ; but any person at present an improver may continue as such for a period of not more than one year from the date of the industrial agreement. " Improver " shall mean any person other than an apprentice, or a journeyman, or a member of the employer's family. (7.) That employers shall make no discrimination between union and non-union men. (8.) That the industrial agreement shall be signed on or before the 16th May, 1898, and shall be binding for a period of three years. (9.) That for any breach of this industrial agreement the penalty shall be a sum not exceeding £10. Mr. James Eegan, acting for the union, said he was more than satisfied with the award, gave his formal assent, and announced his willingness to accept it at once on behalf of the union. At another sitting of the Board Mr. Eegan said all the bakers cited who employed labour had signed the agreement between masters and men, with the exception of Mr. Johnston, Parnell. In his case it appeared that he should not have been cited, as the business belonged to Mrs. Johnston. Mr. Johnston's name was then withdrawn. Wellington. Bakers' Dispute : Enforcing an Industrial Agreement. —A case which came before the Stipendiary Magistrate last month—that of Bingham v. Kilduff—was a matter of interest to employers of labour and unionists, as it is the first information laid under " The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1894." The defendant is a baker, and the information sets out that he has not paid the rate of wages agreed on in an industrial agreement dated the 26th November, 1897. There were two other informations charging the defendant with further breaches of the same agreement—one for employing a carter as a baker, the other for employing a non-unionist when there were union men as competent, ready, and willing to do the work. His worship intimated that he would not be able to take the case that day, but Mr. Martin, for the defendant, said that he intended to take a preliminary point which, if successful, would dispose of all the cases. His Worship decided to hear the point. Mr. Martin submitted that the agreement on its face was bad, on the ground that the parties to it were incorrectly stated therein, and also that it did not exactly comply with the form given in the Act, inasmuch as it was stated as being " made the 26th day of November," instead of " this 26th day of November." Mr. Martin pointed out that if the word " this " were not used the agreement need not necessarily have been made on that date, and the intention of the Legislature in making the provision as to correct dating was to make it clear when the agreement would lapse. His "Worship then adjourned the matter. (See June list.) Tailors' Dispute. —The master tailors in Wellington appealed against the decision of Mr. Byre Kenny, S.M., fining Messrs. Veitch and Allen for a breach of the agreement drawn up by the Conciliation Board in regard to the tailoring difficulty last year. (See April list.) Tailoresses' Dispute. —The recommendations of the Conciliation Board (see last month's list) were not accepted by the Tailoresses' Union, and the case went before the Arbitration Court. (See September list.) Bangiora. Building Trade Dispute (before the Conciliation Board). —Dispute between local carpenters and employers. The demands were practically on the lines of the Arbitration Court's award in Christchurch. (See pages vi. and vii., last year's report.) The union had made proposals to the employers, and received a reply from Mr. T. Keir, who wrote on behalf of Messrs. Boyd and Keir, W. Wadey, G. Thompson, and J. Withers, stating that they had met and considered the proposals