A VERY SLACK TIME.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 484, 17 April 1909, Page 11

A VERY SLACK TIME.

HUNDREDS ALMOST IDLE. > ■ OUTLOOK FOB CITY WORKERS. Extensive inquiries wore made in labour circles by l a Dominion reporter this week with a view of ascertaining how much unemployment '.' His investigations show that thore has been little, if any, improvement in the labour market during the past few months, and'that the industrial outlook is not good. Work on the Wharves Has Decreased. Asked how tlio amount of work now offering on the wharves compared with that available during April last year, Mr; D. M'Laren, ' M.P., secretary to the Wharf Labourers Union, replied: "I should say that there is a third less work to bo performed; that the number of hands seeking employment is a third greater, and that, on the average, the men are earning 10s. per week less than at, this time last year." When the labour bodies mado representations in February with regard' to the slackness of trade, continued Mr. M'Laren, it was stated, hi reply, that business conditions would become much easier in a month or two. It had boon pointed out that, for tho year ended March'3l last, there had been a drop of 12} per cent! in the'imports to tho port of Wellington, which meant a falling off in trade to tho extent of £609,370. From observations of the cargoes being handled at the present time, ho was satisfied that that drop in trade was still continuing. One thing that impressed him was'the largo number of men who had recently been coining to the wharves in search of work. Since' harvesting and shearing operations had concluded; and tho slump * had taken place in the flaxinilling industry, numbers of workers had returned to town. Therb •must also be taken into consideration, , tho fact that there was no demand, as, in past : years, for men in connection with local bodies' works.and other largo undertakings. Labour Will.Claim the Right to Work. It .-was ,; well-known, Y continued' .Mr*. " M'Laren,' that, throughout the field of I*. bour in tho cityj the supply of workers.was still greatly in excess of the demand. Ho was afraid ' that ; there was.no prospect of relief from the pressure for the next'few months. . On the wharves, the period from .. May till the middle of October was invariably ,a■ very dull one. The amount of work .available on'tho wharves was, in''a measure, a .trade'•'■barometer for the whole pity.;:Ho'expected shortly to And the,trades and labour bodies, through ,their councils in conference,, making a. claim similar",to' that which was .being mado. by organised, labour;in tho. Old Country, viz,, .tho claim which , was embodied hi, tho expression, ■ "Right to work.".,, As far .as• ho, 'could see, .nothing .'special was being ernment to provide fresh .avenues of.eiriploynient.' Large numbers, of honest/work-, men were living on. tho verge of destitution, at the present time, and the.least accentuation; of the existent depression .would bring crowds. of them into a' state of starvation: It was- an' intimate knowledge- of the actual conditions under which the mass > of,' the people were living that made;him hotly inV censed ■ against tho loose talk' that was' being, bandied'by men in high positions' about the' need of further taxing tho masses for defence and other purposes; Without-doubt,' men in positions of authority should coli-, centrate .their attention;-off the opening up of •the.lands of ;tlio country,'and increasing the-amount of employment' available for the people., ■ V . ■'• . . .< , • ;Bui|tling Operations Curtailed. ■.'... . '■During 1 the past month ,or two' the posi--' tion with regard to builders' labourers'-- work' ! ,has slightly .improved. ; 'According to Mf. F. Browii, secretary of the union, the'improve-, ! ment isniainly due-.totheiact that number's of workers have in the interim-left for other 'parts .'of. tho Dominion and for Australia. wen Tout of in :Febi'u'ar} i ;-' s where'as.only 20 were ! \idkj aVtlio ■ Tho loss of employment %io' r to the- completion'of various'buildings had ■just about been counter-balanced'by'"three fair-sized," structures, costing' in the aggre-. gate . £10,000,: .having;,been, pemmenccd, in addition to a number of smaller jobs. It was ' further stated by Mr. Brown that the amount of work available just now was about, the same as was pffering thjstime last, year— the number in,employment would not vary ten either",way. .As far, as ho -was aware, ther'O' was no promise ;|of-'work. '. becoming much more plentiful during, the months, though he knew of,'two additional structures of large dimensions wero contemplated in the-citjj; There:had.bcoh'a noticeable falling off .injtho- number:of\new' arrivals, in search of work'.,.. A good/many,, workers .who had been $11.'.tho; country harvesting were making, fori other ..parts, instead' ■ of returning to .the, city.;' "What-is wanted,',' added, Mr. Brown, "is the easing of tho money market'.;,,lf money wero not so tight plenty' of jobs would bo undertaken. ; t know for a fact that the various architects have their offices full of work.- Why; this time last yoar 600 'men wero engaged on'' buildings in 'the city,'; to-day there is,.'not work'.for'more' than. 150." '.'■;', '..','■■'',. Butchers Slack Though Meat Choap,; '; Another representative of labour seen,was Mr.' A. . H.. Cooper,-, president of tho.,- Bootr ■makers'.'Union of Workers,.'and secretary .to. tho,Butchers.' Workers'; Union., "With regard to tho bootniaking-. industry ho,, said, that. " trado.was not quite, so busv.as it should-bo at the present season. Full timo was .being worked in: most factories. ,-It, was not anticipated that there .would be- any slackness.of tracle during the next' feu; months', 11-eforring to tho butchery Mr,, Cooper observed that- employers wero complaining of ..tho tightness of money and f.illing-off in business. It had been found necessary by a ,number of firms to reduce thoir staffs' by 0110 hand, which meant that each had lost'at least;'3o .... customers; During tho past three or four months there had been on,the averago about thirty liaiids out of employment. Ho estimated' that,- in the city and suburbs, about 150 men .and boys found employment in tho trade. As far as he could see the prospect was that things, would get worse as the winter advanced. '• Although meat, was considerably cheaper now than it had been for'somp two or tlireo years, peoplo were, not .buying''.in' anything near as largo'quantities as hitherto.. What tho Labour "Department Says. ' ■■', Inquiries at tho office: of the Labour Department show that at this period of the-' year a much larger number, of applications aro made for employment than at any other period. About this time last year tho''do- , mand for unskilled labour was fairly satisfactory, bush,fellers, navvies,' and ploughmen, wero then in request', and considerable difficulty .was being experienced in getting com- ' petent builders' and other labourers. Today the demand for labour was'confined to a few. skilled farm hands and ploughmen for the South; Island., Work was still available oil- eo-bperative works in the North Island, preference being given to married men. With, regard to th» building and kindred trades, it' was understood that the number of competent workers who had not got steady employment! , totalled hundreds. For instance, over one, hundred carpenters and joiners wero ■ stated to bo put of, employment in tho city, ; Tho slight increase in thc.numbcr of applications: to tho Department for employment was pro-' bably duo to tho fact that a considerable amount of work was being offered oir : behalf of the-Public Works Department in connection with the post office foundations and tho Legislative Council additions. During,; Inst month over 150 men had been sent to private employment...Most of the callers were-.un-skilled' labourers and . tradesmen connected with-the building, trades, about 8- per. ccnti boing now arrivals.. Tho position was about tho-samp as was boing experienced earlier in the year. In fnct, the outlook could not bo considered bright. '