MASTER AND APPRENTICE

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 548, 1 July 1909, Page 6

MASTER AND APPRENTICE

THEIR MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS. AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION. In tho present condition of tho trade , apprentice, where the "indenture" has more the appcaranoo o£ a rolio of tlio past than an ohservacco of tlie present, there sooms to oxist only a tacit understanding as to mutual obligations of each party to an apprenticeship —tho mastci' and the boy. In the bad old days—or wero they good?—the •under a legal obligation to teach his apprentice the theory and practice of his trade. It was a condition of tho indenture. This, it would appear, is no longer tho case. The present relationship of master and apprentice, in so fa-r as the aspect of trade instruction is concorned, was vory clearly defined at tho conference of drrcctors of technical education which was held yesterday at tho Education Board office, when there wero tabled for discussion tho following remits by Mr."' W. S. La Trobe (Direotor of the Wellington Technical Sohool) . . (1) Compulsory attendance of trade apprentices at technical classes. . (2) The recognition by* employers of the, time spent by junior day pupils in ; preparatory day classes. (3) The question of preventing apprentices and othor learners from being made, to, work; OTOrtjme in.' or of- . fices. . . , ' v -V ■ Present-Day Apprenticeship. . Speaking to thp motion for the affirmation by the conference of the principles embodied in the above remits,' Mr. La Trobe said that technical education offered certain, facilities to young learners in the trades, and: these facilities ought to bo taken advantage of. In, the past masters were bound to educate their .apprentices' in the theory • and ■ practice of their trade. ' This'obh'gation did not obtain how. ..The apprentices, at their own expense and in their own time, attended technical olasses of instruotiorf in the principles of their trade. This relieved the master of certain responsibilities no doubt, but it bore veryhardly upon the apprentices, whose bodily and mental vigour at the close of the .day's work was too jaded to them to get tho most out of their evening's instruction at the Technical, School.There was a tendency to regard; apprentices as' boing, in <a sense, grown up. As a matter, of fact, they were only, infante, and where their educational interests were at stake, parental or State authority ought to be invoked. What was ■wanted was legislative compulsion.! With regard to the second remit, Mr. La Trobe' asserted that! the latter 'part; at least, of the apprentices', oourso at tho technical classes ought to' count as part of his period of indenture. A ; student who entered the Technical School at the age of 14, and took up a definite course in a particular trade, would, at tho ago.of 16, the usual age of indenture, be of some use'to his master, and •should; actually be retted as a third-year apprentice.The question of overtime,' he continuod, was continually cropping up. Students at the trade classes in Wellington frequently ; had their courses disorganised by having te'Work overtime for their employers. Two or throe evenings a week were frequently missed. , M?re.Students Wanted. Mr. Howell (Ohristchnrcih) agreed.- Although their 1 trado workshops - and classes were well .attended/ they wanted more students and mpro workshops, if the; country were to maintain a good position in the in-: dustrial world.' Some; sort; of. ■ oompulaiori must be resorted to in the matter of apprentices and" trado classes. He preferred voluntary effort, but 'if that wore found wanting, the State should 'bo appealed to. As'to the second point raised'by Mr. La Trobe, he would* point out that there was the' parents' point of Vview. For the first two or three' years after leaving school the boy, by entering an office or doing errands, often became a wage-earner, ' attending the.; trade classes at night with an oyo to future advancement. Whether the boy took lip a 'course of day class instruction or merely attended ■,the evening classes,theTe was inV certain- amohht of self-sacrifico— on tho part of both: parents and; boy—which ought to be recognised, either ,bj a compensating reduction of. the' apprentice period,, or higher"' wages, the latteir alternative .'being ono. he thought, for the consideration of tho Arbitration Court. .. Mr. Opio (Palmerston North) said that in his district certain 'employers- paid the fees of such of th'oir apprentices as attended the trade classes. J. His experience - was,' that while the commercial' classes, were well attended, the trades classes were; not. . Mr. Varney (Wangatnu) said that in 'Wanganui,the Carpenters' and Joiners' Association paid a £60 grant, annually, towards apprenticeship fees, while the painters and decorators also supported the local;' insti-' tntion. He did not think ■ that, anything. could bo - done, until the; indenture system was revived; with a-''proviso compelling attendance at trade classes from two or four hours a week. • A Land of Experiments. Mr.George ' (Auckland) .. said. that New Zealand was a .land.of experiments,, but, ;so far"; a? industrial , education 'was - concerned; the -present ; discussion referred to matters which ' had already been thought: over- and carried into effect by•' other countries. In Munich (Germany) they, had young boys attending day. classes , two whole days per week. Every employer was obliged to send his apprentices—up till the. : age of A B—to tho technical classes.' . f Scotland had 'instituted a; similar ; scheme; with discretionary powers to local authorities.; Personally,;he was opposed to evening classes, which Were altogether wrong. Boys; who had been "slogging in" all ; day': were unfit to do good work atVnjght.'-He admitted that the/even-' mg classes ..werewall attended, •' but that was no' criterion of i results. ; They wanted quality, not quantity. Employers ought to be compelled not to employ boys more than a certain 'number of hours per week; the balance, of the working iperiod to be spent at tho classes,- ,ln Austria,' any employer who evaded . bis obligations in this j respect' was fined; "and deprived, of. the I privilege ~ of employing boy labour. Everything . pointed -to " some effective .substitute for:., the "indenture" : Bystem. Concessions. ~ • ! With regard to -tho matter, of concessions 1 and the.; indenture- period as . compensation for time; spent at the trade classes,- he said that ,about 'two ;ahd a half years ago the matter was brought before the Minister, and a soheme submitted. It was really a question for tho Labour Department. 1 .. The present ; condition; of ■ affairs was altogether wrong. In Auckland he had .known of an apprentice being paid ,ss.' a week, when; as ' a matter of fact, his experience of -tools and grasp of principles entitled him to 255. per, week. It was a curious si<folight on the subject that a student v taking the engineering oourso at- the; University was allowed to' count so much towards his'"tickets 1 It was obviously' unfair, especially when it was considered that the Technical Schools .offered better" practical instruction in engineering than was possible to be J obtained at the. University. His opinion wis that parents were quite prepared to make sacrifices when convinced of the . ultimate' good to be, • obtained. He hoped; for little encouragement from Government employers in this connection. , Th<v Newmarket -railway shops were the worst employers in-his experience., The only oxception'he could name was the Post Office, which oompelled its. boys to attend the Technical School. Mr. Varney. (Wanganui) suggested , that the Civil Service regulations were against | them. * A .cadet had to pass the; Civil Ser* vioe examination. Apprentices wore on a different footing. ' '. Ultimately, it was decided to refer tha whole question to a eub-committee consisting of Messrs. (chairmaa),- Howell, M'Caw, and La Trobe, for a,rep6rt.