FACTORIES AMENDMENT BILL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2215, 30 July 1914, Page 4

FACTORIES AMENDMENT BILL.

A QUESTION OF HOURS. ! ■ WOMEN AND BOY WORKERS IN WOOLLEN MILLS. • Mr. T. M. WILFORD (Hutt) moved the second reading of the factories Act Amendment Bill. Ho said the Bill was a short but a rather important one. Jjong ago; .he said, when woollen mills were not payable concerns, the law had given to woollen companies a concession —that;tliej; should be'allowed to -work their women and boy employees' fortyeight hours per week, whereas in all other / factories women and boys were required to work only forty-five hours per week. He thought that the" law ought to bo altered to put wo-men-and boy employees in woollen mills on the' l same footing as'those ill other and this his Bill proposed to do. The amendment in the law was tho more necessary because tho work was arduous. Ho had-read) a news litem in a newspaper'toVthe.effect that the women employees jin.the .Oamaru '.Woollen Mills, .wished,, to;'retain.'. tho 48 hours' week,'taV he; held' in-Vhis.jhand •» petition signed by: everjr '.woman 1 employee at that, factory, asking him to get his Bill passed'into law.- ' ; Mr. H.'J. H. OKEY (Taranaki) said that the m'ember for Eden, who was unwell, had asked him to move that the BUI be sent to the Labour Bills Committee in, order that evidence' might bo taken on it, / '' ■ • Mr., Wilford : It will kill the Bill.

Mr. SPEAKER pointed out that the member .for Taranaki- could not'; move his motion until after'the'second reading wias agreed to,' ; '' Mr.- G. ,'WlTiy' (Riccarton) said he hoped the member in charge iof the Bill would not allow it to go to a Committee,? which would have, tho effect of killing, the Bill. -It was a humane measure, and he hoped it would pass. He read a letter from the manager, of a woollen company (ho did not givo the name), protesting agaiiißt the proposals contained in the BilJ, and-stating that the whole, of the, company's workers bad' petitioned against it. : Mr. Witty made it plain, Wwever, that he dissented from the views expressed in tho letter, and had heard nothing of the* petition which it mentioned.

SIR JOSEPH WAKD (Leader of the Opposition). said he could not understand why anyone should oppose a proposal to put women and girls employed in woollen mills in tho same: position in regard to hours as thoso employed in other factories.

Hasto Inadvisable. Mr. A. HARRIS (Waitemata) said that he hoped tho House would not act hurriedly m this matter. Ho did not say thai he would oppose tho Bill, but he approved the proposal of the member, for Taranaki to send it to the Labour Bills Committee.

M 1!.! 1 .- C. WEBB (Grey) supported tho Bill. ,

Mr. J. S. DICKSON (Parnell) said ho would like to see the Bill go to the Labour Bills Committee, especially as ho had been given to understand that if it wore passed some of tho northern factories'would be closed down. Also if the,-workers, could show that a reduction of, hours was necessary the Arbitration Court: had full power to reduce the hours. For this reason there was no great need for the Bill. The Hon. D. BUDDO (liaiapoi) said he did not think that it was necessary to send the Bill to the Labour Bills Committee, but he would suggest to tho member in ohargo of the Bill that he should delay tho remaining stages of tho bill for such a time as would enable woollen-mill proprietors all over tho country to make representations to Parliament if they should wish to do so. Tho industry was highly protected and employees in it ought to be at least as well treated as workers in other industries.

Mr. j. H. BRADNEY (Auckland AVest) said lie thought it a pity that the women of New Zealand should be mere factory slaves. He would support the Bill, and he would like to seo it go through this session. He would not agreo to the Bill going to a Commit-, tee unless the Government would undertake to give the Bill a chance of going through;

Mr. J. V. BROWN (Napier) said he would support the Bill. Tho Hon. R, M'KENZIE (Motueka) said he would like to reduce flic hours not only to 45 hours a week, but to -44 hours a week. Mr. D. BUICK (Palmerston) said ho knew little about woollen mills, but it seemed to him that if all that Mr. Wilford had said were true, past Governments ought to be ashamed of themselves, for allowing things to remain so long as they were. He would ' vote for tho second reading of the Bill, but after that he would favour sending it to tho Labour Bills Committee. Mr. J. CRAIGIE (Timaru) read a letter from certain of the employers setting forth their reasons for objecting to the Bill. He hoped tho second reading would be carried on the voices, and that the Bill would be sent to the. Labour Bills Committee. Mt. J, PAXNF, (Grey Lynn) said

Mint any mail,who would object to the reduction of hours for women lrom 48 to '45 was ''nothing less than a brute." The Hon. A. T. NGATA (Eastern Maori) appealed to the Prime Minister to give the House a lead on the Bill. A good prima facie ease had been mado out for it, but if, as was alleged, thero was danger of injuring tho industry by passing it, t'lie Bill ought to go to a Committee for inquiry. More Harm Than Cood. The Rt. Hon. W. F. MASSEY (Prime Minister) said the subject was not new to him, and he had received a pije of correspondence pro and con. He read! a report- on the subject from Air. Lomas, then head of, the Labour Department, which pointed out that unless tho women worked for the .full forty-eight hours it would bo impossible fm- the men workers to work for that time. Mr. Massey agreed that Parliament ought to remedy a hardship if such existed, but it had been stated to Jiim that if the Bill became law, it would do tho people in whose interests it was being promoted, more harm than good. Hours would be reduced, arid this would mean reduced wages, for the work was all paid for. at piece-rates. He was not 1 ' at all clear how it would alrect the industry as a whole. Ho ttiought the Bill snould go to the Labour Bills Committee. it had "been suggested that this wduld. kill the Hill, lie could not- promise the member for Hutt to give tne Bill precedence over Government business, but he was quito prepared if "the Bill did not come uack lrom the Labour Bills Committee prior to private members' days being taken for Government business, to give Parliament an opportunity of coining to a decision on tne Bill. He wouid not say mat he could give the Bill three at the end of tiie session, but he wouid give the member in cnarge oi it a reasonable opportunity of having tiie Bill dealt witn by the House, ho did not tnmk such a change should be mado without hearing eviuence. He did not propose to tase sides on tho question. He wanted evmouce, and lor this reason he thought tho .BUI ought to go to a committee.

Mr. E. H. CLAKJi. (Chalmers) suggested that the reduction in hours would mean loss of wages.

'Mr. W. A. VEITCR (.wanganui) said tliac the bill would mean a reduction iii hours tor auult maie employees in woollon mills well as for women and Doys, but still ho thought Parliament iiiould pass the Bill. Messrs. Li. M, lsitt, H. G. Ell, and J. M'UowUs, all supported the Bill. , Mr. E. P. Lllii (Oamaru) said he would vote for tne Bill,' even if it should be necessary to impose heavier Customs duties. Mr. G. A. WILKINSON (Egmont) said he ,wo\ild like to see the Bill go to a committee. As a country member, ho would object to the imposition of a higher tariff. Country people thought the tariff on woollen goods was too high already, and wero looking for a, reduction, especially on hosiery. The Only Question. Mr. W. H. D. BELL (Wellington Suburbs) said he had been informed that women in woollen mills did their 48 hours' work per week standing all the time. ■ 'l'hat was enough, to cnauie him to decide at 'once to vote for the Bill. .He would not consider the effect the change would have on the industry, and for that reason he would not agree to the Bill'-being tent, to a committee., j Mr! T. ; M. :Wilford replied. Incidentally he accused the i*rime Minis- . tor of being against the Bill. ' 1 Mr. Massey: If you say that I will withdraw'my offer.' • ' ; | Mr. Wilford: I do say so.'

,jMr. Massey: Then 1 will withdraw my offer.

Mr. Massey relented to some extent, however, and later Mr. Wilford asked him to allow the Bill to pass hthrougli all stages at' one sitting, but '.Mr. Massey would liot agree to. give t'ho Bill jjrecedenco over Government business. •' A Little By-play, i Mr. Massey added: "It has been' suggested'to mo during the evening that the honourable member wants, me to block;his Bill, but i won't do it." i Mr.' Wilford: "You're as' slippory as an eel in a bucket of soap. That may go down with Tee Dominion, but it won't go down with me." He said that lie proposed to take his chance with the Bill. . , ..

' The second reading was agreed to on (ilie voices, and Mr. Wilford asked •to liav'o the Bill set down for committal a fortniglit honce (when the Financial Debate will be in progress.', ' | Mr. H. J. H. OKES moved on behalf of Mr. Bollard that the Bill be sent to tho Labour Bills Committee;

: Tbo Hon. R. M'KENZIE (Motuckn) suggested an addition to the motion that tbo Committee report in ten" days;

i Mr. WILFORD: No, that won't suit me. Let's have a voto on it, and they can kill it if tliey want to. I flie motion to send tho Bill to a Committee was lost by 34 votes to 32.

: Sir Joseph Ward: Does the Govern-! ment intend to resign? You were; beaten on that division. J i Mr. Massey (laughing): It wasn't a burning question. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. , The-Imprisonment for Debt Limitation Amendment Bill (Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh) was committed ,at 11.20 p.m., and reported, with a minor amendment, a minute later. ; . ' Tho House rose at 11.25 p.m.