THE DRIVER'S DISPUTE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 121, 15 February 1919, Page 9

THE DRIVER'S DISPUTE

BEFORE- CONCILIATION COUNCIL. ■•• By Telegraph—Press .Association. Auckland, February 14. /' .Consideration 'of tho .dispute between ' the, federated'drivers and the employers wSs'begun by the Conciliation Council to-day.The advocate for the federation " was Mr. A. Parlane, of Wellington, general secretary, and for tho employers . Mr. W'. Pryor, ot' AYellington. Tho assessors for the federation were Messrs. G. 'Davis (Auckland), Brown (Napier), and Hunter (Christuhurch); for the employers Messrs. C. H. Fleming and H. J. Otley (Christchurch), and M. Stevenson (Dunediu). Mr.'J. Roberts represented " the Transport Workers' Federation. The chief discussion was ovor 'wages. The union was invited to liiake an offer as a'basis for. discussion, and held to the original demand 10s. for a 48- ' hour 'week on single-horse 1 basis. Mr. . Davis , said there was lio hope of 'a set:'V tlement on anything.but a'4B-hOur basis,./"and with if fair'living wage. * "Mi';'Pryor the' union to reconsider its 'do. : •mands.'ahd .make a more reasonable offer. ». ' ' V/ ' ■ , Discussion then centred oil what'could bfj called t reasonable living wage, which the Commissioner defined as a wage'that would" admit of'the wage-earner rearing an average'family in ordinary comfort, and enabling him to save something.

further: details. ■By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, February 14. The matter was considered as a Do-„ minion dispute. Although the dispute' had in . the first instance been filed by employors in the Auckland district only, representatives of both employers and employees from all parts of the Dominion wero-present. . ' ' •

The Commisisoner pointed out that a great responsibility .rested on the delegates, and.urged the necessity of calm and: considerato discussion of the' points at issue. '.' .:

It was mutually decided that the' dispute should bfe' dealt with in open council. ■ ' "7

For the employers, Mr.-Pryor said that there had been two'conferences, and the contentious points' had been narrowed down to the questions of' wages and hours. As a basis for the discussion the , employers had filed'the old award; which • provided .for a wcokly wage of',£2 12s. to ■one-horse drivers, with tho addition of a ■"= war bonus of Cs. per week, fixed by Cabi- ' iJiet. This meant that one-horse drivers ' would receive a wage o'f'jS 18s. a week, including stable attendance. 'During the ■ last conference several ofors and counteroffers were made. It might now shorten tlie present proceedings if tho representatives of tho men would make tho em- ■ ployers an offer. Mr. Davis, one of the assessors for the men, said there was no possible chance of settling the dispute unless it was considered from tho standpoint of a 43-hour week. Tho wages to bo paid could then be considered. 'Mr. Hunter, another assessor for the men, said that tho Drivers' Federation proposed that the wage for one-horse drivers should be =£3 10s. per week of 48 hours. i . Mr. Davis said the drivers did not . inind doing stable work providing that it could be performecTwitliin the 48 liours. ' , Tho drivers wanted a living wage. The Commissioner defined a living . wage. . 1 Mr.' Hunter said that in fixing the wages of drivers it should be borne in mind that the I'iite of wages in the days immediately .before the war was; £2 Bs. per week of 56 hours, spread over seven days of tho week. The demand of .£3 10s. for a week pf 48 hours was verv reasonable, considering the. cost of living, including house rent. The demand for 10s. per week was extremely moderate; in fact, it was no more than a living wage. If the employers considered ,£3 10s. per week too much, what, then, did they consider mi living wage? The Inen required a new preference clause. .They had o>p to proposo which would make for better organisation, and would not cost employers an extra penny. Mr. I'ryor said that if employers acceded to the ..demands of the men and gave the increased wage, the whole industrial situation ,in Ihe Dominion would be upset, and tho last condition of tho men would be worse than tho first. It was all very well to talk about, passing .increases on, but that coulil not be done .'in the carrying business as easily as people.imagined. Every increase o; rates meant less business. He emphasised that increase in must be passed oil to v the general public. If the present wago of tho driver was not sufficient, then other avenues of employment were \ ' open. Mr. Hunter said (hat the men were unable to reduce the demands. A wage of ,£3 lljs. for a week of 48 hours was tho irreducible minimum. If no settlement was reached at the present conference he could give no guarantee as lo w]iat, would take place in the future. This was not a threat. Mr. Pryor said that ho could not. bcHeve that Mr. Hunter was in earnest. It appeared that the men's assessors were deliberately attempting to_ force the country into industrial turmoil on the drivers' dispute. Mr. Davis.said lie and his colleagues were sincere in a desire to effect a settlement;

Mr.'-Hunter sai<l that the employers were apparently endeavouring' to throw

the responsibility for ?ot reselling a settlement on the men.

Mr. Roberts, secretary of the Transport Workers' Federation, said that it was not tho correct thing for Mr. Pryor to mako'statements without justification or proof. The Transport Workers' Federation lind nothing to do with tho drivers' dispute. The Drivers' 'Federation 'had a free hand to do what was best in tho interests of its organisation; ' and any agreement arrived at would be accepted by the Transport Federation. The Commissioner asked if the assessors were prepared to consider the dispute on an hourly rate of wages'. After an adjournmsnt Mr, Davis said that tho drivers were prepared to coneider employment at an hourly rate of Is.

7d. It was then decided to adjourn to en -able both sides to consider the now sug gestion.

AUCKLAND TRAMWAY DISPUTE THE CARS "EASE UP." By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, February 14. The dispute between the tramwaymen and the Company reached a new stage to-day,-when the employees adopted a policy of "easing up," or, in other words, following the regulations to the strict' letter. As a consequence the service was much slower'-than usual and the general public suffered much inconvenience. Congestion was specially heavy at rush times, this being accentuated by the fact that some of the extra cars generally used at busy periods of tho day were not taken out by the men. Both side? are reticent ns to their attitu.de. The only people discussing ■ the matter freely are' those using the cars. The chief inatter in dispute is the question of wages. . A STEAMER FROM SYDNEY QUESTION OF GUARANTEES FOR WATERSIDERS. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wanganui, February 14. The Essex arrived in the roadstead direct from Sydney last evening to load frozen meat. Tho local watersiders at first indicated that they would require a. guarantee bofors working the ship, but after communication with Wellington today they decided to work on the ordinary conditions and loading will commence to-morrow morning.