LABOUR CONDITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1180, 15 July 1911, Page 9

LABOUR CONDITIONS.

———9 MOSTLY GOOD, DEPARTMENT'S MONTHLY REPORT, Tho condition of trade ami labour over the Dominion, as reported by the Labour Department, is as follows;— •. WELLINGTON. Outsido of the retail trades, there baa been a distinctly favourable tona in tin general reports of business and trade for the month. The inclomcnt weather Ims tended to keep customers from shopping, and shopkeepers consequently report a. slight fallin-oll' in business, hi the building trades there has been an appreciative briskness, and manufacturers generally have experienced a very busy month, trade being belter all round Minn that of the corresponding jicriod of last year. Building trades: Bricklaying—'The im« provemcnt reported last month has been maintained, and no men arc idle. Carpentry and joinery has slackened, and several tradesmen aro out of work; with the bricklaying busy it may safely he anticipated that a demand lor more carpenters will soon obtain. Painting has been busy uir to the end of the month, but the outlook is not very bright for the coming month. Plastering is not brisk, but a fair amount of work has olfered, and' very few men arc idle. Plumbing and gustitting is decidedly busy, and inquiries lor good men remain unsatisfied. Stonemasons aro reported to bo fully employed, but there is 110 demand for extra hands. Woodworking trades: Boxmaking is still busy. Cabmctinaking aud upholstering—Reports. aro very good, all regular hands being iu full employment. Coopering is fairly' good for this tinio of til# year. Sash and door factories—Business has been very steady, and very few hands are out of work. Sawmilling—Tho improved conditions reported last month havo continued, reports being very favourable- Wood-turning—Although the class of furniture now in chief demand has no turned work on it, there arc no reports of any tradesmen being idle. Engineering trades show a considerable improvement for the month, large orders for heavy girders and country work being the main eatise of tho betterment. _ Boilermaking has continued busy during t'ho month. Hra«3 and copper-smithing has improved, and several new hands have been emploved. Fitting .ind turning ar« much brighter than in tho previous month, but still below normal, iron ami brass moulding has been busy right through, aiul all hands have been employed. Kangemaking, as expectcd, hat shown considerable improvement. hlec« trical engineering-Reports are very lit vourable, aud openings exist for first-clasf tradesmen. AUCKLAND. The conditions of tnulo mid. labour or® Mill very svHsfactovy. Factories 111 t all clas?ss of. trade are wovkmjy full time, and in some lines a «iood deal of overtimo is being worked. Building trades still very active. Bricklaying—There aro 110 mpn idle in this line. Carpentry and. joinery bu'v. Painting—Thirteen men aro reported to be out of,' work. Plumbing exceptionally busy. Stoncmasonry—So far there are no men applying for work in this line. Woodworking trades: Furniture trades still busy'. Coopering—Jiurmal condition. Leather trades: Bootmaking (factories) rather slack; some meu working short time; employers complain that this is due to tho difficulty ot obtaining machinists. Saddlery and har-ness-making busy. Clothing trades: Millinery and dressmaking fairly busy for winter season. Tailoring (factories) busyin all branches. Woollen-milling working full-handed and full time! Retail trades: Retail trades are apparently doing good business in all branches, aud there are no complaints of slackness.

GREYMOUTH. There has boon a fuHiug-off in business, . anil trade during Iho mouth, particularly with tho retail dealers.. Tlio building | tradc9 have slackened off. a, number of tradesmen being idle. This'slackness is „ , expected to bo only temporary, as other.', contracts are to bo "coni'nionccd in th# near future. The engineering trades aro steady, and employment is much bettor for tradesmen than last winter. Sawmilling is still busy; orders are coming m freely. Coal-mining is fair, and soma mines complain of the scireity of ordert, OTAKI. Business generally has been rather dull} ■ tradespeople still complain of tho tightness of money. Tho building trade is keeping fairly busy, and there seems to bo a fair amount of work in sight. There ua» been no ovnrtimo applied for in any of tho. trades during tho past month. NAPIER. - The conditions of trade and employment continue to maintain a, normal level. In (lie building trade thoro appears to bo a, briskness, which has kept its standard for some time in Napior. During tho past two months ending Juno'3o, 1911, building permits to the value of .£B,MI have been issued, and in Hastings also building operations aro brisk, permits for buildings reaching approximately jCOOOO 1 for the mouth. '• MASTER-TON. Trado and business for tho mouth, aU though still quiet, show signs of nn improvement. As far as tradesmen are concerned, there aro at present very few out of employment. The building branches have improved considerably. PALMERSTON NORTH. Trado generally has been very satisfactory during'tho last month, aud perhaps a'little uioro brisk than usual, owing to the influx of visitors to tho 'Winter Show, and Coronation festivities. Tho weather has been specially .favourable ■to outsida work for (his season of the year.

WANGAXUL Business goncrallv throughout the month has been decidedly good. The building trade especially is busy, olid likely' to bo to for some considerable lime. The furniture trade also continues busy, while tailoring anddressinak. iug, ctc., have been quieter. CDRISTCHURCH. Wet weather and frosts Wire caused some slight delays in building operations, but the loss of time by the workers has [ not been so severe as usual during'winter months. Several largo contracts have just been signed. ■ The .severe weather lias I improved matters in the country districts, and lias saturated the'sub-soil well, which will insure sufficient inoisturo in the ground for ejiring agricultural operations. Trade in (ho boot-repairing branch and the sale of heavy winter elofhing have also increased. Most of the operatives in skilled trades havo made good- time. There has been a slight influx of unskilled labourers, most of whom, however, came from the country districts or from other eitios. No difficulty was experienced in ■ placing most ol' them on either the railway works or at other private work offering. Tin* demand for farm labourers lias increased, and a number, of vacancies wero iillcd. nUXEDLW Considering (ho period of the year, Iho labour conditions can bo said to bo very satisfactory as compared with a similar period of previous years. The iron trades, with the exception of moulders, have been busy, and the same remarks apply to the leather trades—liootniaking, saddlery, ctc. Coalmines are busy, as also is tho goldmining industry, both l>?itt£ now in full swing. Tho clothing trades have also cxpcricmeod a busy month. In unskilled labour there has been a number of men seeking employment! However, there aro numbers of jolts in progress.