NEW SHEARING CONDITIONS IN AUSTRALIA.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1408, 8 April 1912, Page 8

NEW SHEARING CONDITIONS IN AUSTRALIA.

r WORKKKS' f.MOX ISSI7KS I?l"LES. ; Shec-p men in Xew Zealand are nalurallv - in thu .-hctiriii» i-ondiltuiw pni yniliiij; m Australia. W.i tuk- the toliowi ni;; trum the Sydni-y "Daily Teloyrapli":- - .A pari from the altoraiiims in tim raUs L ot pay provided in tue resent arbitratiou ; a«aM oi lir. Justice Jliifgins for the [ sliciiring mdii-lry, tlicre are nuinv im- : imrtant alteralions, in tile general condi- ' nons under whieh work in the slwariiig - sheds «ill be earried out durin,? the impi- ■ .».'{( soason. 'l'o meitt tii esc ultt-i-ations the ■ Au-tralwn AYorkers' Union lias draitod a ■ numlx-f of ikmv niles, in accordaiico vitli, ■ «»' i" aliinlificatioii of, the award, ivliicii • wm ;;>. binding; on ils mcmlx-rs vhile on-

; gaged in the sheds. As the A.W.U. has , over DO per cent, of shearers and shed workers in its ranks, these rules become •practically general. ;■ The most important of these new rules, inasmuch as tiiey deal with a "question wluc.i occasioned more disputes than anv oilier matter during the lust few shearnigs are tnose relating to the wet sheep problem. Mr. Justice Jliggins, in ins judgment, said that some cmnlovers were apt to regard the objcctions'of the men (to shearing sheen they considered wrtj as iKing landfill, or even insincere, but the shearers generally and honestly believed that certain ailments were due to handing wet sheep, and this belief could not be contemptuously brushed aside. The empbyers said they objected to jnessing wet wool, but it by no means followed that the degree of damp which would injure the wool was (lie same as the decree of (lamp which would injure the shearer. Scientihc means had not vet been found lor determining what degree of damp was sale tor shearing. He therofov followed .Mr. Justice O'Connor in allowing a shearer to refuse to shear when he consiuered the shrcn were too wet, provided .lie gave.due notice to the overseer. But in order to provide against one or two fidgety men bringing a shearing temporarily to an end (because tlnre seemed to bo

a point o unionist honour for men who thought the sheep were drv to decline to shear when some considered the sheep wet), he directed that a secret ballot should be taken, and a shearer mav legitimately, refuse to shear if the majority at such secret ballot decided the sheep were ivst, it the rules of their orgauisaiijn required them to cease shcariii" The union has therefore dratted a rule to meet this judgment, as foilous:-Xo iiicmter shall shear sheen if a maioritv of the suearers by vote on a secret hallo*'determine that the sheep are too wet to shear. Penalty .Si. This is an advance on tlio previous position, wherein an open vote, with its accompanying distrust and

insincerity, was usually taken. It has been provided, also,.that the vole shall be counted in the presence of llio overseer, if he so requests. The shearers' representative and two other members as ■scrutineers shall count the ballot. The working hours in sheds have again been fixed at 48 per week, and work shall cease at noon on Saturdays, but. to meet urgent necessities, a new' provision has ■ been made that if ewes and lambs are in the pens at noon on Saturdev the shear- : ox's may continue after 12 o'clock for not more than half an hour to cut them out, provided the consent of ft maiovily of the shed hands has been obtained. When : extra time has been worked in this wav . shed hands arc required to n-rk after : shearing has concluded such tiuie as is necessary to clear up the shed, just as i they would had (shearing concluded at 1" ' o.cloek sharp. . "Harrowing," the finishing-off bv s]i»d : hands during meal hours or~smoke-ohs of sheep partly shorn, has long been a cause of heartburning to other-shed, hands, who are sometimes kept" m" (K' shed lo'nger than they would have been had the sheep ( been iimshed by the shearers. This has ' been dealt with in the award, and the < rules now provide that such 'harrowing' J shall not be allowed during meal hours or ) smoke-ohs, if it interferes in anv wav . with the meal hours or smoke-ohs of anv i other members. * ,

Uio refusal of Mr. Justice Hi-rgins to award any increase in the piecework rales tor woolprossing has been received with very great,dissatisfaction by that section i- ilf cm l?!o- VPe s. ilissatisfaction onlv slightly modified by the stimulation that whatever the earnings under the ra'p- a mimmum wago of 655. per week must'bo paid to the piecework wooloresser In some cases Mr. Justice Higgini lowered the rates of the previous award (those paid .m the smaller sheds of less than 20 shearers) to the .fid. (hand-nressed greasy wool) rate ot the larger sheds. The ,Tnd"o even indicated that they would have be?n lowered still further had it not heen (hat the employers had stated that they were prepared to pay the rates of th» last award. \\oolpi-essers claim that Mr. ,TipV : tjoe Higgins did not take into consideration when fixing the piecework rale, the lact tnat the working hours of woolpr««s----crs were unlimited—thev worked as long as there was wool to press, sometimes far into the night, and this fact accounted for some ot the large earnings recorded iu the evidence before the Court. To meet this position, the union lias Inwht forward a very drastic new rule. It £ that woolpressers shall not work more than 18 hours per week, and no work nn Sundays It has been made clear in the new award that weighing, branding, and stacking of bales are not included in Hie pres<dn» rate and weighing and branding are to be paid for extra at 2d. per bale where piecework obtains, while weighing, branding and stacking are included in the duties of woolpressers on timework (weeklv The wages for pressors on timework" are oOs. per week and found.

The rates for crushing were fixed in the award, but no rates were fixed for "wi" Kins' and _ ''ringing" operations sometimes coincident with crntching. no claim having been made for them. The union has issued a notice to its members that waging and ringing are to he paid for at rates to be mutually agreed upon No allowance for combs and cutters is made to crutcners; as is the ease with shearers