LABOUR REQUESTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1517, 13 August 1912, Page 2

LABOUR REQUESTS.

A HEAVY LIST. HON. W. F. MASSEY INTERVIEWED. STATE INSURANCEARBITRATION COURT REVIEWED, .A long attay.of proposals with a bearing upon Labour legislation were brought under tho notice of tho Hon. W. F. Massey (Minister for Labour) yesterday by a .deputation representing the Weliingtim 1 Trades Council. It was introduced by Mr. M. J. Eeardon (president of the Trades Counoil), who was also the principal speaker; ' • A Heavy Programme. Mr. Eeardon said that as this was tho first Labour deputation which had waited upon tho Prime Minister it had a heavy programme to put before hiin. Most oi the proposals had been before the Government of the day for some time past, but uniortunately so far with very small results. They took the fact that llr. Massey had himself taken tho Labour partiolio as an indication that ho realised its importance, and was prepared to Dxamiaoi the proposals of both sides with sympathy and without bias. The first, proposal the deputation had to advance was that what was knbwn as the' domicile clause in the Workers' Compensation ..Aci should be abolished. This clause provided when a worker met with death or accident no dependent outside of New Zealand was entitled to" compensation. This provision was unjust and absurd. At present New Zealand had a reciprocal arrangement with Western Australia. regarding workers' compensation. At present unless an accident incapacitated a worker for seven days he was not entitled to compensation, iloro liberal pro•visio'ns were- required, particularly in the case of casual trades Bke shearing and slaughtering. .

"A State Monopoly." . Tho deputation proposed that this and other increased' benefits should be provided for by makins a State monopoly oi tho insurance of workers. At present over twenty insurance companies, were operating in New Zealand, and keen competition • made' the. cost of - management very high. The. original intention ot the legislators .-'in framing the Workers' Com-' ,p'ensalion;'i\.ct'had bebn to benefit workers; but immediately upon the law coming; into operdtioi) insurance companies set out to exploit the business for profits. In support ot what he had said, Mr. Keardon read the following tabulated .statement based upon figures lor 1910: — Showing, how the companies dispose of 'each ifilOO. of premiums «>llected. " . Ratio per cent. Losses. Expenses. Profit. Commercial Union 43.06 33.26 23.68 t London and-. Lancashire .'... 31:59 33.29 31.82 National -31.55 ' 31.00 34.45 Royal . 31.53 30.15 38.34 Standffd 29.04 " 30.59 39.77. United 24.94 43.72 • 31,34 Tlie . Government offica shows' these figures^for the 12 months ending December 31, 1910. - -•-Losses. -Expenses.. Profit. , 58.G1. 39.99.- - 10.40 "■ Only two companies can bear comparison ,with the. Government olfice in the amount spent -towards the purpose for ivhi6h-|tho. money was collected. Showing 'low much it cost to secure every-,£loo of premiums ■ • • Expenses. i Alliance '.....' 56.80 Guardian i 65.62 Liverpool, London and Globe 55.76 Ocean, .v. 50.61 Royal Exchange ' 65.94 ; Ckimparo these figures with • ■ ■ . .. the-Government 30.99 ;• . ■ There were"-'only; three offices in New Zealand, : llr.'. Eeardon continued, that would bear comparison with the Government office iS' to working expenses. If the business were, made a Statu, monopoly the •expenses saved: .would cover the cost of the 'extra benefits proposed. Under the ;Act tho annuity paid for total, disablement continued till death. In New Zealand it' continued, only for six years. The' deputation held that the New Zealand Act should be.brought into line ifith the English Atet in this particular.

•'.« Exemptions and-Preference. ; On - behalf of the -.Painters' Federation he that no exemptions to granted from the operations of awards. Far too many exceptiofe were granted, and it was always the'big men who wero excused, while the small men had to stand by the law. Big meat companies and such concerns pleaded that they could not work under 13. or 14 different awards, and they got exemption from many awards on this groiind/.ahd again if a union embracing all the workers in the industry initiated a dispute they raised* objections'to so many different trades being brought under the one-heading. So that they managed to labour men both \vays. He asked also 'that in filing an application for the hearing of a dispute, it sliould'be deemed sufficient notification to the parties cited to insert an advertisement in one or more of the newspapers circulating in the district; The deputation asked that the Act be amended to provide for compulsory preference to unionists. They felt that as the law was made binding upon employers it should be made binding upon emnloye»s too. . , Mr. Massey; Do yon mean conditionalor unconditional preference to unionists? ' Mr. Eeardon: We should like unconditional preference, but we take it that that would be difficult, to get from Parliament. ITe added that where preference was granted by the Court there was less , trouble in tho industry. If Parliament "could not give unconditional preference, ' they would have- to bo content with conditional preference. .■/ Miscellaneous' Requests, He UTged .that the section giving magistrates power to dismiss a coso because it was trivial should be repealed, having bscn found unsatisfactory in operation. Another request was- that agreements "made be/ore the Conciliation Council should be binding, and that power to alter the same should bo taken from the Arbitration Court. Agreements had been occasionally arrived at amicably by the parties, and then altered later by the Council. 1 He suggested also that all partnerships should be registered, in order that the bogus plea of partnership should not be us"d to defeat the provisions of an award. Eegarding tho Wages Protection Act., he drew attention to , the decision given recently by Mr. A. D. Thomson, S.M., in Palmerston North. Mr. Thomson had held that wages need l>o paid weekly only by contractors. Previously it was the practice that all employers should pay I weekly unless there was a special nrrangeI inent to the contrary. So muny employers now paid weekly that it might safely he made compulsory for all to do it. i„- Another request was that all New Zea-land-made g"ods be branded "Made in New Zealand." He purged that tho Factories Act bo amended so as .to jprovide for a wording week , of 41 hour? instead of 48 hours. He asked also for' an extension , of the operation of the Workers' Accommodation Act, to-make it apply to such workers as sawmill hands, ibs well as shearers. ; On bahalf of .the Slaughtermen's Federation he brought under the the Minister the need for better housing icommodation, and for better accommodation at some factories for employees in meat works. Finally he asked that Labonr representatives should have an opportunity of giving evidence before tho Labour Bills Committee when t.lio new Arbitration ..Act vvns under consideration. ' " | Tho Arbitration Court. ; . Mr. E., J. Carey paid ho proposed to ■speak about the Arbitration Act. Tbero were differences of opinion even amongst -Labour men as to the best machinery methods of giving effect to tho schoiue uf compulsory arbitration in labour disputes. ;One of tho--.grievances of Labour men bow: : jraa thE(t. the ; Cwrt "" gs at: present

[ constituted did not recogniso that it was subsidiary to Parliament. For the success of tiio system it was necessary that r tho President of the Court, whoever ho might be, must bo skilful and tactful. Ho was not One of those Labour men who held that tho President of tho Arbitration Court should bo a layman, and not a Judgo of fho Supremo Court. What Labour men wanted was a man to administer tho Arbitration Act, so as to keep the system in line with economic and industrial development. It should not be possible for "a Judge to have power to make a provision in an award to overrule the intention of the. Act, and a provision which could be undone, only by the passing of a special Bill through Parliament. He cited the case of the award under which . hotel' and restaurant employers worked. The Act contemplated fiat tho currency of an award could bo fixed, but that it 'should .remain in force until a new award was made. The President of the Court, however, had expressly determined that ,the'award for hotel workers should expire on August 1, and the consequence "was that in' this industry there was no award in many parts of Npw Zealand. Court and Parliament. The Prime Minister said that, now the case had been mentioned, it would be just as well that the tacts should be stated clearly. ■ Under ordinary circumstances the award would have operated until a .new one -was in existence, but a clause-was inserted by the President, to the effect that this award would cease to operate on August 1. • Mr. Carey declared that this was evidence. of resentment on .the part of the Arbitration Court against Parliament for taking away certain of its powers. Mr. Massey: 1 don't go the length of agreeing with you in that. Mr. Carey 'referred to the change contemplated in the Bill to be presented to Parliament, to the effect that any Judgo of the Supremo Court should deal with Arbitration business in his own district. That would be an improvement. Labour men did not want to sec the Arbitration Act repealed. Concerning the second proposal of the Government to substitute a man directly concerned in the industry under review for a permanent assessor on either side, he 6aid that the deputation did not favour the change. The broad principles for which Labour men were striving could be bettor safeguarded by a permanent representative of Labour than by a man working in the trade, possibly an employee of one of tho opposing parties cited. The present Court had power, it it was thought desirable, to call in the assistance of trade assessors with expert knowledge.

Saturday Half-Holiday. They asked also for an amendment cf the law relating to the Saturday half-' holiday. At present they had power to have a municipal poll taken, but it wts found that the obtaining of sufficient signatories to a proposal for a Saturday half-holiday cost a good deal in money, time, and worry. He stated that the Tory Government in Queensland had introduced a compulsory Saturday half-holiday, and lie asked that the p>eseut progressive Government should introduce legislation to introduce the Snturady half-holiday in tile four ceatres. Mr. am glad you make a distinction between this progressive Government and a Conservative Government. I appreciate your distinction. Mr. Carey said that what tile deputation asked was that the Saturday.hall-holiday should be made comp'ulsorj; in the four centres, and that the provision for a poll to determine the closing day should still apply to the smaller ccntres. Hours in Woollen Mills. Mr. B. Kennedy asked the Government to into consideration the repeal oi Section 20 of the Factories Act, which provided that for womua and boys employed in woollen mills -18 hours should constitute a week's ( work. This particular industry , was protected by a-duty of 25 per cent., and,.according to the statement submitted by the employers fco the Court, the average wages Ipr women workers was lGs./6d. per week, and for girls of in.m 14 to 18 years of average wage: of males in this industry was 345. 4<l. per week, something under 9d. per hour. He thought it \xas high time under these. circumstances that the section should be repealed, and that Ihe hours of work should be 45 hours righl through. A Forgotten Objective.

Mr. T. Long (Auckland) said that a number of cases had occurred in which serious injustice had been done to the dependents of injured workers, by the failure of employers to take out insurance policies . under the Workers' Compensation Act. Mr. Long said that the original purpose ( of the Arbitration Act was to encourage the organisation of trade unions, with a view to the prevention of sweating. This object, had been steadily lost sight of in successive amendments. Unionists desired that the original purpose of the Act should be revived. Mr.' Long also mentioned the efforts that had been made to obtain an award for farm labourers in Canterbury. He understood that recommendations made by the Court (k> employers when the award was refused had be«a ignored. The Court should be compelled to give an award to any body. of workers applying for it. Owing to the small amount allotted to the Labour De-partment,-it was impossible to put on,a sufficient number of inspectors to ensure farm labourers being provided with pro- j per acoominodation. Mr. Mossey . said that in many . oases farm labourers lived with the farmer. Did they wish for inspection under these circumstances? Mr. Long said that the fcame thing applied to hotel employees. Their accommodation was inspected at present. Mr. Carey said that in Queensland farm labourers were, entitled to an award provided a majority in the industry desired it. A Case of Hardship. Mr. W. T. Young brought the case of the dredge Manchester, recently lost while on., a voyage from New Zealand to Australia. The members of (]ie crow, lie stated, were New Zealand citizens, but owing to the fact that the dredge was owned by the Sydney Harbour Trust, their relatives were not entitled to compensation! A provision that anv foreign employer employing a New Zealand citizen should jbe liable (in the event of the latter meeting with death or accident), to compensate his relatives, would prevent the recurrence of a case like that of the dredge Manchester. Mr. Young suggested next that inspectors should be engaged to inspect nil running gear, chains, hooks, etc., used in ./handling cargo on shipboard, and that shipowners should be compelled to provide, a safety net at every hatchway, In' 1910, Mt. Young stated, 250 accidents occurred in connection with the wharves of this port. It would be found on investigation that most of these accidents occurred in the hour before vessels comfleted discharging—when the rush was on. n a large proportion of cases the accidents occurred to men who fell down the holtl. The provision of an ambulance chest at country sawmills was also advocated by. Mr. Young. At the present time, he stated, men who met with accidents at sawmills situated in outlying disj tricts sometimes had to wait many hours before they got medioal attention.

The Court and Strikes. On the subject of the Arbitration Court Mr. Toiing spoke at length. Previous to 1905, he said, it wap permissible for any union or employer to rejcct an award and resort to n strike or lock-out if they so desired. In 1905 a lock-out occurred in the furniture trade in Auckland, and the late Mr. Seddon brought down an amendment to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act which made strikes and lockouts illegal, from ISDi to 1905, whenstrikes were made illegal, there were • no strikes in New Zealand. Since 1905 there had been no fewer than 42 strikes, up to the en 4 of last year. Twenty of these strikes were within 'the scope of the Act and 22 outside. The position, Mr. Young remarked, seemed to be a most peculiar on?. He ventured the opinion that the Arbitration Court had been responsible for these 42 strikes. Prior to the making of strikes illegal, it was within the knowledge of the Arbitration Court and of all the organisations concerned that an award could be thrown aside. The result was tliat awards made between 1894 and 1905 were more sympathetic to, the worker than they were at the 'present time ■ or since 1905. J.n other words, it became clear, upon investigation, that sinco strikes had been made illegal, the Arbitration Court had been punishing tlio workers and ilie workers had resented it by resorting to strikes. He was not one of those men who supported strikes, though he had been materially involved in one recently, and might be involved in another- on too morrow, Ha (jugsested,

that to revert to tho original lan- would probably bring ckntn strikes to a minimum. President of tho Court. Mr. Young slated that he did not approve of tho Government proposals for tlio reorganisation of tho Arbitration Court. In his opinion it would lead to industrial chaos to give effect to these proposals. Some Labour men considered that the president of tlio Court should not bo a person of legal training. Personally ho did not agreo with this view, holding that where a man had a law. to administer it was necessary that lie should have a legal training. But lie did not think that the President of the Court should be a Judge of the Supreme Court. If the President of the Arbitration Court was debarred from being a Judge of the Supreme Court, lie believed that 75 ■ per cent, of the existing difficulties would be overcome. Hitherto every president had been anxious to get rid of. the Arbitration Court work in order that ho might take up exclusively the duties appertaining to tho Supreme Court. Personally he considered that tlio president of tho Arbitration Court should be selected from the magisterial bench. It had been said that a man acquainted with industrial affairs should be appointed, but while it was easy to get a man who was acquainted with tie details of a particular industry or of several industries, it was impossible to find a man who had £n expert acquaintance with industrial matters in general. Mr. Young favoured the retention of the present lay representatives. Not a single, employer or worker, he stated, had asked for any change in Ihe lay representation in tho Court. MR. MASSEY IN REPLY. SEVERAL LABOUR BILLS IN PROSPECT. Mr. Massey, in replying,* said that he was'pleased to meet the deputation and to hear its representations, and had been particularly glad to hear the moderate, reasonable, and intelligent manner in which its representations had been put forward. A full note had been taken oi everything said, and he intended to go through the proposals and suggestions with tho responsible officers of the Labour Department. Later on he intended to submit the representations to Cabinet. He thoroughly ogreed with the opinion expressed by Mr. Reardon as to the importance of tho Labour portfolio. He looked upon it as one of the most important of' the portfolios allotted to Ministers, and for that reason hnd retained it himself. He intended to administer it without favour or bins, doing his best for both sides in industry. .Doing this, he was quite satisfied that he would be doing. his best for the country as <i whole, He believed that there would be several Labour Bills before Parliament during tho present session. Each of these measures would go before tho Labour Bills Committee, and everyone interested would have an opportunity of expressing his opinions before that committee. Every proposal made by the deputation would receive tho consideration to' which it was entitled.

Mr. Carey said that in the past the redtape procedure of the Lalxiur Bills Committeo had been used by the employers as a means of blocking legislation. He hoped that measures would ba taken to prevent anything of the kind occurring in future. Mr. ,Massey said that he hoped no blocking would bo attempted. In speaking of an opportunity to give evidence he had meant a reasonable opportunity. Mr. Reardon thanked the Prime Minister for receiving the deputation.