SHOP ASSISTANTS AND CLERKS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 412, 22 January 1909, Page 8

SHOP ASSISTANTS AND CLERKS.

■;!;' ;; ;;i'fNEED ORGANISDfG BADLY. ,, ';". ■;.' '. Shop-assistants and .their action or rather want.'of action in regard'to the Saturday half-hpliday were discussed at length by. the ■Trades and Lahour Council last night;- : .-^ The debate was opened when a report was read from the "ManSgement' Committee! stating thatat a special meeting Mr. Bloch had been.. appointed secretary for! one week' to the. Saturday halfrholiday movement, for the purpose of'.obtaining signatures to a.petition in favour .'of the weekly half-holiday being observed on' Saturday. ■■ ' ' - .-"' .'■■■'. Ith'.: Conchie entered .an emphatic protest against the action , of the committee in taking, this: step when all the members; were not present) His'desire to have his : objection recorded, however, was not acceded to, and at. a' later?-.stage the, , engagement of Mr. , . Bloch was.renewed for:another week.. ;; .;■ : ; Mr," Bloch; reported that.up to the present; 'he ; had ..obtained about 550. signatures. , to the petition. He suggested .that •a; public meeting; be called, with the idea of arousing public sympathy with the movement. : ; Mr. larlane moved that; the part of the report referring to the public meeting be deleted. that: it "would be -time enough to,call a_ meeting when they had got the necessary .signatures.' ■ . : Opinion, as ;to the wisdom of calling a public . meeting differed amongst the : delegates. Soinp pointed out that the shop assistants who were chiefly affected by the petition .were : frightened of speaking out or signing' the petition.;. It was also . stated 1 that many men objected to the Saturday halfholiday, since they thought that they would nofbe able'to got v their shopping done.-. ; -■Mr.- Parlane's motion was carried,- and' the report as; amended: was adopted. ■ ' > '.., Mr., W. -T.. Young' moved: affirming the: desirability .that the. shop assistants ishould be formed into a union,, wilh the object of, seouring the Saturday half-holiday. ■: He realised that the shop assistants were a body who would do very little for themselves, and to act independently was what they should be! taught. In. answer to a question,, Mr. Bloph stated that very.few of the shop' assistants had signed the half-holiday petii.'tion. - ■':■;:■•'" ." '■'' '■' '■ ■■■•■ . . '■' .':'. ':" '

■'■■Mr.- Levy seconded the motion pro forma. He said! that he had spoken to a number of shop assistants on the matter of forming a union, and his suggestion had been ''pooh--poohed." .They were afraid of being discharged, arid. would take no 'action. ■•. .■■.: '. Another delegate said that "'if things- did' not improve they would be discharged for want or something to do. If the shop assistants .were as clever as they were to..be they should see the wisdom of- organis-" ing. '.:;■ .■ - - ; .'■. '■■' ■ - /l ■ '■, -.•■ ;..■•■'■"

..Mr. Purohas said that he thought that, it ,was a deplorable fact that the Shop Assistants' Um.on had bean allowed'tordwindle' away as it : had. The council ■ should take action, for- there was. plenty -of work: for it to do. Another braneji of: labour that needed organising badly .was the; clerks. : Miv/W. T. Young thought the'eommittees they had constituted should get to work.: If they-did so, they would find very little time for lectures. -The Dairymen's Union needed helping badly, and that Wai'-a question'ior the Organisiug Committee. That committee was lying idle, and it should get together and dear with matters. ; . The'motion was carried. \ :■--.