MINIMUM WAGE BILL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1392, 19 March 1912, Page 5

MINIMUM WAGE BILL.

DISCUSSION BY CABINET,

MINEOWXERS , CONTRACTS.

London, March 17. Cabinet is discussing the details of tho Bill to bo introduced in Parliament. Tho Premier has had a half-hour's audience with Hie Kinff. At tho Premier's invitation tho coalowners and miners havo appointed representatives to confer with the Government in regard to the preparation of the Bill. Many mine-owners ask for a, clause, in the BUI enabling them to vary or cancel existing contracts. They state that otherwise these will prove unremunorativo or ruinous, owing to tho increased cost of the. output under tho Minimum Wage Bill. Fierce debates in Parliament aro expected. , . , r ,, Mr. W. G. Nicholson, Unionist M.P. for the Pctersficld Division of Hants, speaking at Pcforsncld, said the Minimum Wage Bill, if carried, would bo a prelude to every trado union demanding a similar Mr Straker, in a speech at Northumberland, said tho Government's altitude was tho beginning of recognition «f a minimum wage in all industries.

SYNDICALIST PAPER. I'UIXTRRS ON TUIAI. London, Mnrch 17. BPiijamin Buck and Charles Buck, pvintcr« and Unwnmn. a joiinmlist, Imve li'pi-n committed lor trial in conlifcliflii Willi Hit: piililicnd'on «f a sy»diciilist paper. EFFECT ON SHIPPING. i.Ii;i:.MAN VllKlffllTS INCRUf-W). (i;>r. March I?, in.-t.i p.m.) Ocrlin, .Mnrdl IS. ■\ r"l|f<!l'euc.n ff DruiUCH "11(1 JJnUiUurp fhippiog interests Lμ uioriywod freights

to distant purls by 10 per cent, onil to home port- l.v l.i per cent until coal is again available at nnrimil prices. MINIMUM WAGE SCHEDULE. TIIK itEVJSUI) HATES. The English papers In hand by lasi evening's mail contain Hie details of the revi-e.l minimum w:, Kl . -clicdulo adopted liv Iho Miners' Feilorati'in at its conference in l.nmlnn on IVlirnaiy '1. Mr. Enoch IMuard-, M.l'., presided over the. conference. II was iil'tcrwarils aniioiiiHM-il ollii-i- ' allv llml I lie lollowing ro-olutions had been adopted:In iicninlann' with the resolution agreed tt iron al I In , l.i-l. iiiii'liiiH of llii.t cniiferenre, held in llirmiiiKli.ini. and ba-«l upon thi' rcMilulinu pas-nd at Iho conferenco held in ],i>iul(in on ;\'nvcmlxT IS !ii-sl , tin. following claims be formulated for tlio individual in iiii mu in wago in encli dislrict for )iiec»'workers at Hid face of th« coal-.— "Yorkshire, 7s. fill. Somersetshire, Is. l.aiiciisliiiv, 7s. lid. -Midland Kedera- lirislol, ts. lid. tinii, (is. to 7s. Cumberland, (is. fid. Derbyshire, 7s. ljd. Hcotland, (is. to 7s. (id. Smith Wales, 7s. Xotlimjlmmshiro, ljd. lo 7s. Gd. 7s. Gil. Northumberland, North Wales, Gs. (is. to 7s. 2d. Leicestershire, 7s. T)iirhiiin, Gs. ljd. 'Jd. Forest, of Dean, 53. ■South Derbyshire, 10(1. to. (i<l. Cleveland, ss. 10(1. Ko underground iidnlt worker shall rcceivo a rato of wages loss than ss. per shift, this not lo apply lo Somersetshire, Iho Forest i,f Dean, and ltrislol, Tlio iniliviilual iiiiiiiiiinin wages for all pieceworkers other tliau colliers to bo arranged by the districts themselves, unci to l)i) as near as possible the present, wages. Seeing that the rates paid to the underground workers who are paid by clay wago urn so complex and diliicull to deal willi generally, we leave this matter lo Iho dUlrids, with instructions lluit they endeavour to arrange minimum rates for each class or grade of those* workers locally in each dislrict. ArrniiKeinciiU for boys' wages to be left to Hie districts, but l<i be not less than present wages nor in nny case, less than 2s. por day, Somerset, lirislol, and tho Forest of Dean being exempted. ■ That a conference of this federation bo called to meet, in London on Tuesday, February IH, at 10 a.m.

THE ORIGINAL RATES. For purposes of comparison we give below the minimum rates, so far as it has been possible to ascertain, which were originally demanded:— Yorkshire, 8?. Somersetshire, 6s. Lancashire, 7s. Bristol, Gs. Midland Fwlern- Cumberland, Gs. Cd. lion, ss. Gd. to 7s. Scotland, (i=. I.WI. . South Wales, Bs. Derbyshire, Bs. Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, fls. to Cs. Ocl. 7s. 9d. and Bs. 3d. Durham, Gs. Hd. North WnlM, 7s. Forest of Dean, Gs. Leicestershire, 7s. 2d. Cleveland, C=. South Derbyshire, Gs. to 7s. (id. Somo of these rates were afterwards reduced in tho course of tho negotiations. In Derbyshire, for instance, the figure of Bs. was abandoned and rates of 7s. Gd. and 7« lid. for different parts nf tho coalfield (now'formally approved) were substituted,