THE OTHER SIDE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 859, 4 July 1910, Page 4

THE OTHER SIDE.

WORKER AND UNION. A story was published in The Dominion od Friday which seemed to show that a certain workman had been rather harshly treated by the Carpenters' Union. The story told by this man was that he had fallen into arrears with his subscriptions to the union, and had been struck off its list of membership. He had proposed to pay up his arrears by gradual process, but tho secretary refused now to to membership, with tho result thai he, wast unable to get work in his own trade and/unable to join another union. The secretary of the Carpenters' Union, speaking to a Dominion representative, put a different complexion on this story. He stated that the mnn in question paid tho usual entrance fee of ss. to join the union, and was then liable, by liis contract of membership, for payment of sixpence a week as his subscription. He paid only one sixpence in the year, al % though, it was stated, he was in meut most of the time. It is expressly laid down in the Art that members who arc a year behind with their subscriptions shall be 6truck off the membership roll of a union. Such a provision was found needful, because unions wishing to impress cortain reuresentations on the Government could urge a membership, according to their books, of several hundred workers, when many of those men had left the district long before, or were only nominal members of the union. In accordance with this clause in the Act, the' i.nrponter in question was struck off tho union's roll. Ho had previously, it is urged, been warned repeatedly of his obligations, but had persistently omitted to pay tho subscription. Recently, through the secretary of the Builders' Labourers' Union, he made payment of live shillings. Tho secretary of "tho Carpenter.i' Union acknowledged this sum towards the repayment of arrears, but refused to reinstate tho man as a member of the union. He expressed the opinion to tho pressman that the worker was lighting tiie union, and that ho could pay up his arrears at once if ho wished. it iiicli conduct was permitted a man might pay fivo shillings to becomo a member of a union, obtain work for twelve months as tho result of that membership, without paying more than tho first subscription, and then, being 255. Cd. in arrears with his fees, join the union for another year for a payment of 55., and defy it to sue him for the back subscriptions*. That was what the unions did not mean to encourage.