9

H.—ll

e.g., waterside work on Saturday afternoons and refusals of coal-miners to work on certain Saturdays; in these cases the total amount of time so lost is counted as equivalent to the number of days shown in column 3.

The above figures show that out of a total of 276 industrial disturbances 248 (90 per cent.) occurred amongst the three classes of workers first mentioned in the above schedule, and the remaining 28 (10 per cent.) took place in fourteen other industries. No disturbances occurred in the remaining fifty-nine industries in which there are industrial unions. The three classes of workers referred to were also responsible for 77 (881 per cent.) of the disturbances lasting over three days (column 3). As stated in the 1926-27 report (page 8), the industrial disturbances in New Zealand over the five-years period of 1919-23 resulted in a loss of eighty-four days' work per annum per 1,000 of the population ; this is equivalent to only about two hours per annum for each breadwinner throughout the Dominion. During the same period the number of days lost per 1,000 of the population ranged from 121 days in Tasmania to 661 in New South Wales, and elsewhere from 194 in Canada to 819 in Great Britain ; other European countries show 259 in France, 591 in Germany, and 795 in Sweden. Later information on the subject is not yet available, but the following comparison between New Zealand and the Australian States is given for the year 1927 : —

In explanation of the reduction in New Zealand in the number of working-days lost per annum per 1,000 of the population as shown above, between 1919-23 (84 days) and 1927 (9 days) it may be mentioned that during the period 1919-23 there were five large strikes—two in the coal-mining industry, two in the New Zealand Government Railway Service, and one in the freezing industry.

2—H. 11.

(1) "" : (2) " (3) " , Number lasting Workers affected. T . N ™£ er of Disturbances. - : One Day or less. | 66 *-* ver Thiee Days. Shipping and waterside workers .. 116 57 30 29 Miners ........ 108 43 30 35 Freezing-workers .... 24 5 6 13 248 105 66 77 New Zealand Railway employees .. I . . .. 1 Flax-mill workers .. . . 2 .. .. 2 Sawmill workers . . .. 2 .. .. 2 Plasterers . . . . . . 1 . . .. 1 Shearers (small parties) .... 7 4 2 1 Storemen .. . . .. j 5 4 I Labourers .. .. .. ! 3 2 1 Gasworkers . . . . . . 1 1 Metal-workers' assistants . . 1 1 Stage employees . . . . 1 1 Electrical workers .. . . 1 1 Hydro-electric workers .. . . 1 .. . . 1 Tunnel workers .. .. .. 1 .. .. 1 Stonemasons .. . . .. 1 .. . . 1 28 14 4 10 Totals . . .. 276 119 70 87

Q , , Estimated Population, Number of Working- Numbei of Workingdays lost, 1927. I I New South Wales .. ..J 2,370,623 1,133,963 478 Victoria .. .. .. 1,726,445 54,367 i 31 Queensland .. .. .. 894,444 428,135 478 South Australia.. .. .. 570,900 51,284 90 Western Australia .. .. 385,043 23,819 62 Tasmania .. .. .. 208,179 14,950 I 72 New Zealand .. .. .. 1,437,980 12,485 9