SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3152, 2 August 1917, Page 9

SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S SCHEME : THE ISSUES BEFORE THE . ■ ■ ■ l UNIONS. ' -■■The.. -Federal' Prime'.Minister (Mr., W. M. Hughes), announced ; last,' week . . that,: '..- in'.' anticipation '_■ of , the acceptance by the unions of the basic conditions governing employment in its shipbuilding, proposals, the Ministry Was ..pressing oh. with'the preliminary work. Ah, inventory., of 'materials' in nionwealth'. had been: prepared, and ar-° . rangemehts had been made to supply dehV . oiencies. Sites were being inspected; and. a schedule of the quantities of materials-, required was being drawn up, with a view : to making the necessary arrangements for delivery; .promptly. . "After most . ! caieful consideration, the Ministry had said Mr. Hughes, "that these ; ships' shall be built to-a standardised design, which will apply-to all iparts, and designs sire being prepared under the ...supervision of Mr. King Salter. -I have •also .had an interview with the general .manager of the Broken; Hill Steel Works *(Mr. Delprat) and all preliminary arrange•ments for securing tho. material for .framework which' his company can supply are now in hand." ; ■'"■••. ''As time is. the essence of the contract,'' ;. continued the Prime Minister, "the Min- , istry is making every effort.to ensure that Nothing shall be'left undone on its part necessary for the immediate commencement of operations. .'Of course, the cooperation of organised labour is a condition precedent. Unless this is assured we shall not attempt to enter upon fliis great national work. It would be futile to do so. This," ho said, "brings mo to :the statement.of the position in which. 1 the various unions interested in the dustry now stand. Being seized of the', vital-importance of shipping to the national, economic, and financial welfare of , the : nation, and of - the' urgent need of i increasing by all means at our disposal 'the supply of available tonnage, the Ministry decided'to launch iipon this great national enterprise under such conditions as would, humanly- speaking, • en- ' sure its success. : The labour conditions ■ which' the Government considered, essential to the success:of its proposals, are three—One, continuity.',of operations.;, two, dilution' of labour; 'three, >piecework. When originally. : outlining the proposals 'of the Government-to , the delegates, at ' the' recent 'conference, I strongly emphasised the fact that the ships to be of value ';'- must not -only -be constructed 1 .with all possible'dispatch,,, but,built at such a price as-would justify the Government in incurring the large outlay. I.pointed, ■out'that it-was obvious that-without con-' tinuity of industrial operations no Gov'.'erhment would.be.', justified .in entering 'upon such "an enterprise.. It was .tliere-' - fore laid down as a.condition precedent ' to the establishment of th'e.industry that the unions must: supply all the lE.bour available within their ranks,'; and that work should be continued uninterruptedly. "It was-emphatically nnp-essed on delegates," said Mr. Hughes, ''that this - absolutely precluded.'cessation of work, for any reason whatever, whether arising out of a dispute in the industry itself, or /from-that 'other cause which has been,; and is still, so'prolific of it-diistriat mi-' rest so difficult of: settlement, and so ut-. terly• inconsistent: with, collective baigaining and ike principle of arbitration—l mean': the' sympathetic strike. Continuity of operations is the bedrock upon which,' this- new- and truly national .industry must rest;-' Without, it.Vwo should he building our industrial,;house -upon quicksands. I'am glad to.6ay that tho delegates entirely agreed with the views . of .the.-'-'Government on this matter,- and 1 were- practically unanimous. in. agneing , to - this vital condition:"

' l '"". • Dilution;of Labour. . 'Turning to. dilution of lr.bour, the Prime Minister went on to s«y that in .view of the'need for providing ships with the. utmost possible expedition an ample .supply of 'labour, was. absolutely essential. .-.''The.application of thV principle of dilution, of labour," he said,- "is one to bo /decided- .entirely by '.the circumstances of each- particular- trade, and the require-' -mentis of the"work of shipbuilding. ' The. necessity' for dilution' will'arise mainly .^vhere.there is.'ai'scaicity of skilled labour, and particularly where. any ■ class of skilled labour demands the right to do certain work. For' example, the numbet of .shipwrights in..the, union is wholly inadequate to' supply a'..sufficiency of skilled labour necessary to meet the extraordinary demand which will be created by. this great enterprise, arid sowill have to be- recruited for the time being from .other/skilled trades, i.e.; carpenters- and joiners. The necessity for' the precise ai* plication of this principle of dilution in any .particular case' will ."bo.- determined on its merits. by : the . representatives of - the parties,, arid, if they, cannot agree, by the board-which is/to be appointed under the -scheme,. about, which further detailed reference will be made later on. This .board"', will only, be appealed to if the union and the manager cannot selves-settle-the, matter.

■■:.,. "I wish to emphasise here," said, the.. Prime .Minister, "one. point of funda- . 'mental • importance: .The Government has no intention or desire to displace « skillejd by' unskilled labour,' and Till conserve to the skilled man that'which •.properly belongs to him. Dilution of the unskilled labour usually'engaged in any. work 'will not be resorted to if. a.

sufficient supply of men from that union is available and at hand. Should any trade be diluted with -unskilled labour, and further skilled labour become available, .tho unskilled labour will ho displaced to accommodate tho skilled Inoour, Tho diluting' labour will bo governed by tho, rules and conditions of the union or unions controlling the trade which is diluted. Apprentices in their last year will be given preferenco_over ■unskilled labour when dilution is necessary, and will receive tho award rates. "While the Government, does not take exception to.the principle that the minimum .rate paid to the higher class of workers should be paid to unskilled diluting •■ labour," Mr. Hughes wont on to ■say, "it-insists' that there can be no hard and fast rule in regard to its application. There may be cases where .this'principle ought not to apply, but the Government will not interfere, and will leave the matter i entirely in the 1 hands of the board,-who will decide on lithe merits of.the case. Broadly speaking, tho principle of equal pay"for equal work .will prevail. 'Demarcation,' which ■has been a most prolific cause cf disputes between, unions, must be provided for, and/ under the Government proposals these questions will be left to the unions to settle amongst themselves. In the '.event of the unions who are parties to a demarcation dispute being unable to agree in any particular case, the matter, will be decided by the board, upon which 1 each union will have representation.

Piece-work. Mr. Hughes said that he had specially piece-work would not replace or reduce the minimum ' wage, but go to' supplement it. -Every man employed would get the minimum wage, as at present. The Tate for piece-work would ho. fixed, and a man would be entitled to as much more than the minimum wage as ho earned. No matter how muoh a,; man made on piece-work,' the minimum, wage would not be cut down. That wns;.the first and great guarantee the unions, interested were given. The second point was -that piece-work was not,to apply to all trades engaged in shipbuilding; there were nia!Vy to which, it : was hot conveniently applicable. "I am glad to say," said Mr! Hughes, "that : after most exhaustive- discussion the conference, decided, that the delegates should recommend, their respective unions, to accept.the conditions put forward by the - Government, including piece-work. "A/word now as to the boards; of which montion has been already made. These are vital to the success of' the scheme, and, the' delegates ' attach the. greatest possible 'importance to them.' A board comprised of one member of each union, and a representative of the employer, together with an independent chairman,- will- be appointed for each trade,, and, if necessary, for each shipbuilding- yard. The chairman will be selected, by the Government,. or. if the iinion prefers,- by the Judge who io to preside over' the Appeal Court to be created to deal with major, disputes which -cannot be settled by the local boards. The- chairman will only act if the parties cannot agree between themselves; There will 1» no .ceremony or red-tape about these boards," said 'Mr./ Hughes. . "They will cost: the men nothing; they Trill, do' their ' work , expeditiously, and in decisions on matters affecting, the. whole, industry .there will be, a (right of- appeal from 'their decision? to the central board, presided oveiv by , a-. Judge. These ■ hoards will settle all. disputes arising out of demarcation, dilution, and all matters incidental to the, working conditions; and they will fix-the Tate of the parties cannot- agree as to the proper rate them : selves.; The agreement is to lait till tho end of l , the war, and for a period of 13 mpnths : afterwards. The Government guarantees the complete restitution of, all luhion .rights when 1 the object of this agreement is attained. At the end.of the period covered.by the agreement any rule which the unions agree to waive or relax will automatically come backfinto operation, and the unions will Tevert, if they so wish, to 'the existing condition of things, and have restored, to them all the rights and privileges .which they now enjoy. Statutory provision will be made for this. reversi6n to the'-xisting state of things.

Issue Before the Unions, '"This,; then," said the Prime Minister in conclusion, "is the.position, which is ■now before ,the .unions,' andj which it is. ■ .vitally: important everyone of the rank i and file of the unions should clearly understand.',.;. The delegates- are. firmly pledged .;.by the conference's decision to urge their respective unions to accept the Government' proposals.. I sincerely, trust that the unions will do so, and without, delay.-/I want to make it perfectly clear that unless all the unions' -do accept ;these conditions the Government will not commence the industry. I am quite satisfied that if the conditions are fairly explained to the men by the delegates they will accept them. And I 'appeal to 'the patriotism and common sense of the unionists in these great.industries to giye their whole-hearted cooperation to 'the Government in .this great national enterprise, that'will'not only vitally assist in prosecuting the war, but establish on a sure and lasting foundation a great industry which will 'give, employment to thousands of men, and, serve as an effective stimulus to the industrial development of Australia."