A HAPPY ENDING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1281, 9 November 1911, Page 2

A HAPPY ENDING.

. « FURNITURE TRADG DISPUTE. AGREEMENT SIGNED. BIGGER WAGES AND SHORTER lIOVHS.

The furniture trades' dispute which lifted its head in |)io Wellington industrial district Minio months ago to the nccompanirnent nf loud sounds of conflict lias now, to nil intents aud purposes, been happily settled. The fact .was made plain at a meeting presided over by (he Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. P. Hnlly) which was held last evening. Messrs. D. R. Kennedy, J. Ferguson, and D. Moriarty (assessors), and Mt. A. H. Cooper (agent) wore, present, representing the union, and Messrs. A. .1. Bishop, B. Docherty, and J. Q. Marshal! (assessors), representing tho employers Mr. llally read an agreement which had boon approved by representatives of both parties hi town and country, He stated that at Unnganui llio number of hours agreed upon in Wellington and Xapier (M per week) was not considered to bo in keeping with requirements. It was contended Hint in Wnnganui, owing to a shortage of labour, tho hours should if anything, bi> increased. When the conncil got to Pnlmerston ftorih it found ;hat the people tliero nnd employers generally were favourable to tho 44-hour «"eelt. Also the union in that (own agreed that the number of apprentices should be increased. Possibly now the Wanganui manufacturers would l>3 Able to fall into 'iie with others throughout tho industrial district. If not, they still had an opportunity of going to tho Court, but he. thought; that this course would bo obviated.

The agreement, having been rood, was signed by the assessors for both the parties.

"A Notorious Case," Mr. .Moriarty said tliat as they'might not meet a"ain ior n long time lin would like to Niv n word or two before they Darted. "This." he said, "has boon a. notorious case right through, and I think that it should bo held up as a shining example of what conciliation cuu do." At onening, ho continued, owing perhaps to littlo indiscretions on tho part" of one or two, thoro had been a little hit of a "rumpus," and it showed what a Conciliation Commissioner could do that they had been able to fettle tho dispute to tho satisfaction of both parties. Tho union certainly had not got all that it wished, but tho settlement, in the main, could Iμ regarded as satisfactory to both parties. What thev had signed to, they, on their nart, would loyally carry out, nnd no doubt the employers would do tho same. The settlement wns due in no small degree to the tact of the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. Hally), and to the impartial manner in which he had handled tho dispute. Ho said this with a full knowledge of what Mr. Hally had had lo put I ip with, and the press, in Wclliugton at any rate, would bo able, to eulogise Mr. Hally's work in settling "this notorious dispute" better than he (Mr. Moriarty) could do in nn hour's talk. Ee was not coming down from the stand he had taken as to tho value of agents in these conciliation proceedings. Ho still thought that agents were ot no use. Mr. Moriarty added that when tho union found the employers willing to agrco to certain proposals, then tho employers' agent still declined to agree. However, that was over and done with. He moved that tho thanks of both employers and employees bo extended to Mr. Hally for tho manner in which ho had settled (lie dispute. Mr. Moriarty ventured the opinion that a lot of the trouble had been caused by the newspaper headings, rather than by the speeches made at an earlier stage o'f the dispute, or by the reports of those speeches. The headings had conveyed aa impression that something Ijko the war. between Turkey and Italy was in progress, and had contained no suscestiori of the "nice amicable 6ettlenieJ,u ultimately cojie to.

"Agents were not Required." Mr. Bishop seconded the motion in referenco to the coniinissionor. Ho. quite .agreed with Mr. Moriarty in what ho , had said about agents. They had found: in going through tho country, that agents ■.wore- not required. Assessors wiero certainly more capable of dealing with matters concerning tho trade than were, agents. Ho would like to see something done in the direction of abolishing the Mr. Bishop endorsed all that Mr. Moria-rty had said about th« judgment niid other rood qualities displayed bv Mr.' Hally. ' Tho motion was carried. Mr. Hally said that he, too, was pleased at the result, and grateful to both parties for the way in which they had met each other. Unless parties met in this way it was impossible for any commissioner to do his work. Personally, he was satisfied with the result, and hoped that both parties would Ixs only too pleased, at tho end of three years, to renew the agreement without alteration. Mr. Cooper said that, as the. only neent present, ho considered he wns entitled to say a word. It was not until two agents had been appointed that the parties came to a settlement. It wns previous to the appointment; of agents that tho general public gained the ideva Hint there was war. As he had "entered thin business against his will,he thought it rather hard that agents should have been spoken about as they had. To Mr. Bishop ho would point out that the employers had been represented by an agent in every district which tho council visited. Mr. Bishop: And they were real good fellows! Mr. Moriarty: Absolutely! The Now Agreement.

The new agreement binds 255 employers throughout tlio Wellington ludustnal'distriet, and their employees. It provides that U hours shall constitute » week's work, tho lime, to be worked between 7.30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on tho iirst five week days, and between 7.30 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Under tho old award the working week consisted of 4(i hours, worked between 7.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on five days, and 7.30 a.m. and noon on Saturdays. The minimum wage for competent cab. inetmakers, upholsterers, chair and frmne-imikcrs, machinists, wood-carver.", and turners, is raised, under the now agreement, from Is. 3jd. per hour to Is. 4Jd. per hour. Ficture-l'ramcrs, polishers (who hiivo hitherto received Is. 3d. por hour), and furniture packers, arc to be paid at the snme rate. Tho overtine provisions arn considerably amended, tinder the new Agreement tim'o and a quarter is to be paid for the first two hours in excess of ordinary hours, time and a hnlf up to 10 p.m., and double timo between 10 p.m. oud tho ordinary time for commencing work next morning, for hours worked continuously. Apprentices are to be paid as follows. (The rates of pay under the old award are shown in parentheses.) :—First year, Bs. por weak ((is. per week!; second year, l'3s. per week (9s. l>er week); third year, 15s. per week' (13s. per week); fourth year, 21s. per week (ISs. per week); fifth.year, 28s. Cd. per week (255. per week). Tho agreement abolishes the indenture system, but the obligations of employers to apprentice?, and vico versa, arc euforceablo under the award. ' Provision is made for preference to unionists on stated conditions. Tho award is to be valid for three years from a dnte to be fixed by the Court.