PARADISE OF MIXED BLESSINGS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3188, 12 September 1917, Page 7

PARADISE OF MIXED BLESSINGS

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TERRITORY \WAGES AND CONDITIONS OF WORK i ■ 7 ~.. , v Conditions of lifo in the Northern Territory were dealt with by Air. Justice (Powers in a series of judgments which lie delivered in the Commonwealth Arbitration Court recontly, embodying the •results of his investigations of disputes : at Darwin. Darwin had. been referred to as a workman's paradise because of ' 'ithe high wages paid, and if high wages iwere all a man wanted to make a place a paradise they could have it at Darwin. S.'hey could have melt cheaper and bread tit a slight.advance on Melbourne rates. . lie found as a fact that tho actual cost pf absolute necessaries of life Was not mucn greater at Darwin than in Sydney, , eo that an existence at Sydney rates and very much higher wages could be obtained at Darwin'. Clothes on the whole cost less because a resident usually only wore what decency compelled him to .wear—light suits for 255. to ; JiS (Chin- . ese made). But laundry work oost miich wore. In tliis paradise,: on tlio ottKr . hand, 75 per cent, of tho workers could notr have their wives with them becauso there were no houses'to. put them into. That meant keeping two nomes ur making wives and children livo in discomfort in camps or hutsi, Tho people had to submit to taxation without ropresen- ■' tation. White Australia did not extend to Darwin. Even Labour officials ,em- ' ployed black labour becauso their wives oould not ba expected to cook meals by open fires three times a May in Dar- . ivin temperatui'B. There was no gas, electric light, 'trams, cabs, or 'buses, and in the evenings picture shows and the public houses were the only places of entertainment. No means of education, beyond tho useful State 6cn001,. was obtainable. Outside meat and bread the cost of living .was dearer than in. Melbourne .when tho articles could bo obtained, but the difficulty was to get what was gen--1 erally supposed a man or family required to keep them in reasonable comfort' and health. It might bo that board and lodging was not expensive, and, considering the. place, it was hot, but although ;board and lodging could be obtained'for man at 275. Sd. or 80s. a week, no ono would willingly take-his wife or children to the' boardinghousos, about •which he had evidence. No one, who had not visited Darwin could bolieve what the heat'was like in/.winter .'in.' July in . fino. weather. ■It was easy to'.understand from, its position what .it was like during the long summer, and particularly . in the wet season.' Another matter to be considered was the remoteness of the place and the ; cost of getting, there. To take a wife and three children, would 'cost, second class,'\,£H; steerage, '-<£SL . Whatever disadvantages one suffered, Darwin was certainly a healthy place to live in. Only one application for sick leave, • the. . Government secretary said, : had been received/ 1 in twolvo months, ■ 'and only seven deaths ,of persons under ! 25 had. occurred.from' January, 1914,, to June, 1917. 'Diphtheria, typhoid, and' other serious diseases were rare. Some, residents had enjoyed good health for 30 years, and two at least for over 4a years. ' {some preferred it to any other place in the Commonwealth.. He felt bound,! in' fixing a basic wage, to consider the existing conditions and , disadvantages a man and his family had to submit to. It would be absurd to fix a basic wage on the actual cost of existence as far as food, groceries, and clothes was' concerned, and the rent allowance for a bark humpy, because there were lio houses to live in. The Government had provided houses for its married employees. He had inquired why houses were not built, and was informed that the cost of building was so high and the outlook of the; Territory so uncertain, jit present that no one with capital felt justified in building, 1 whatever.rents wore promised. ' The. men could not their own homes, . however high the wages, because the cost of material was too great. The real, difficulty was the impossibility of speedy communication ivith the south, and it was generally believed that nothing short of railway communication with' the south would encourige development. This, of course, was 'or Parliament to decide, but the diffi- ? iulty of access at present was taken into lerious consideration by the Court in axing a basic wage. The total wages paid in the Territory from Port Darwin to Tine Creek last year was ,£245,501. .j'he excess of bank deposits. over with-

Jrawals i! 32,959. The aiHount spent over the bars of the four Government hotels was <£55,532 for drink alone; over one-fifth of tile .wages paid was wasted in iJlinki The rest' appeared to have been required to live at Darwin, and to gend to wives and' dependants elsewhere. It was shown that the cost of food and groceries' in common use were slightly liigher in 1917 than, in 1916. In considering, what additional' wage should be granted beyond, the bare cost of living, he had been assisted by the facts that a Govei'nment allowance of .£7O was made to an officer receiving JUSO transferred ■to the Territory, that the Government also provided .houses at 6 per cent, on cost, and that the banks, so far as he could ascertain, paid a similar allowance, lie certainly did not think »it was too great. : The allowance granted by the cable company was much greater.. Adding .£7O, to the basic wage of .£156 that would give .£226 as a basic. wage for a' employee, equal to about £i '.Vs.;'a week. He proposed to fix M 7s. i 6d. a week as the basic wage for any ' clerk in tho Northern. Territory. The proposed award is as to the Northern Agency and Northern Agency Limited and Northern Agency Meat Co., ' Ltd.:—Clerks, JG4 15s. per week; cashior

shipping and customs clerk; book-keeper, costing ; clerk, paymaster, to i! 5 65.; chief storekeeper, chief tally clerk, managor of bond, subaccountant, M; chief clerks, accountants, freezer clerks, JEG 55.; as to other respondents, ss. per week less in each case; employees being paid liigher rates to continue to receive higher rates; boys IB to 21, JEI 10s. to .£3 158., Conditions of employment to include 39 hours week gonerally, overtime and a half for two hours mid afterwards double time, Sundays and holidays work double time. Sick pay is allowed for one month in each year. I'rovision is,made for a board of conciliation. The award operates as to salaries from July 1 and otherwise from August 31, arid is to contitfuo till September 30; 1918.

'In further judgments given, Mr. Justice Powers gave effect to agreements arrived at by the parties, in several disputes, accepting tlie high rates on grounds that times were'abnormal, Northern Territory conditions different .from' elsewhere, and that tho employers were , willing to pay the rates. The further reason was given in the case of station hands that the use of aboriginal labour reduced the cost. Though, rates were higher in this case _ tnan in the recent award of Mr. Justice Higgins, the cost of carrying on pastoral properties in the Territory would bo less than in the eastern States. He awarded the following rates,, with keep:—

Stockmen, 60s. to 68s. per week; head stockman, 80s.; cooks, 705.; teamsters, 80s.; camel drivers, 100s.; saddlors, 80s.; lioro employees, 70s. to 87s. 6d. The employees ' undertake not' to cease work to enforce any demands, and provision is made for a conference to fettle any dispute. ■

In the case of tho wliarf labourers lie awarded 3s. an hour ordinary cargo, with 3d.'per hour additional for special cargo, 4(1. an hour for refrigerated cargo; ana overtime rates; 4s. tki. on ordinary (lays, ss. from 4 p.m. Saturdays and ordinary holidays, and (fs. Gd. extraordinary holidays and Sundays. In the dispute of tlie A.W.TT. and the North Australian. Meat Company, he, awarded from 2s. ljd. por hour for ordinary labourers to 2s. sd. to 3s. for tidal work labourers; 2s. lOd. for plasterers, bricklayers, and pluiubeca; 3s. for lotejnen tradesmen. For a first-class British diver, per day of six hours in a diving suit, i'o a day is provided. , In tlio claim ot tti« carpenters and joiners he granted increases, in spcciai classes of work, from ljd. to 2d. an hour. He granted an application to vary the award as to tho members of tho Australian Workers' Union, employed by the Commonwealth a 6 hotel employees, bv providing that one day a week be allowed off without deduction of pay.