THE PARIS LABOUR COMMISSION

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 160, 1 April 1919, Page 5

THE PARIS LABOUR COMMISSION

AN IMPORTANT REPORT

AN INTERNATIONAL BASIS By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright Paris, March 28. . The Labour Commission has finished its draft for the convention under which the Labour section of tho League of Nations is intended to work. This convention will not be dealt with, until the preliminary peace is settled.. The Commission recommends that an Interna-. tional Labour Conference should 1m held. in Washington in October, 1919. An organising committee of seven members i 6 to be appointed. The Commission has made highly im-" p'ortant unanimous recommendations for the insertion of the following clause in ! the Peace Treaty:—The high contractingparties declare their acceptance of tho following principles, and engage to take all necessary stops to secure their realisation. in accordance with the reebmmenda-' tion of tho International Labour Conference concerning their practical application : 1. In right ais in fact, tho labour of a human being should not be treated as merchandise or an article of commerce. 2. Employers and workers should be allowed tho right of association for all lawful purposes. 3. No child should 'bo permitted to 1m employed in industry oV commerce before the age of 11 In order that every child may secure reasonable opportunities for mental and' physical education, young persons of either sex between tho ages of U and 18 may only be employed in work which is not harmful to their physical development, and on condition that the continuation of their technical and general education is ensured. 4-. Every worker has the right to a. wage adequate to maintain a reasonable standard of life, having regard to the civilisation of his time and country.

!i. Equal pay should be given to women and men for work of equal value in quantity and quality. C. A weekly rest should be given, inducing Sunday ov its equivalent, for nil workers. 7. The hour? of work should be limited to the basis of eight hours a day, or rorty-eight horn's a week, subject to exceptions where the climatic conditions, the imperfect development of tha industrial organisation, or special circumstances render the efficiency of the' workers substantially different. . 8. In all matters concerning their utatus as workers and social standing, foreign workmen should be lawfully admitted to a country, and their fam- • ilies should be ensured the same treatment as those of the nation. 9. All States should institute a sys- * tem of impaction, in which, women should' take part, in order to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations for the protection of the workers.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn.

ADDITIONAL POINTS Liter. Details of tho Convention drawn up by the Peace Conference Labour-Com-mission show that it makes provision for old ■ age and accident pensions. It is proposed to establish two International Labour offices, and a General Conference, composed of four representatives from oach Power, of whom two shall be Government delegates, one an employers' delegate, and one an employees' delegate, to meet at least once a year.' The delegates may bo accompanied toy two advisers, one of whom must be a woman when women's questions are being discussed. A Labour Office is to be established' at the seat of the League of Nations as part of the League's organisation under n governing body of twenty-four members with a permanent director and a staff of different nationalities, of which a proportion must be women.. The office is to collect and distribute information and publish a journal printed in various languages.

The Convention provides that an International Court of Justice shall, 1 where' necessary, enforce. the decisions of the conferences.

The Dominions and the self-governing colonies and India are given the status of high contracting parties. The Governments are to agree to apply Hie Convention to the colonies,- except where the local conditions require modifications.

A protocol provides that the governing body shall comprise twelve Government, six employers, and six employees' representatives, of. whom • two-thirds shall ; re* present the eight principal industrial Powers, and one-third represent' the other Powers. The Dominions are . not entitled to separate representation oii the governing body. Provision is made to deal with contracting nations whioh fail to fulfil the Convention's demands — Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. TO COUNTER GERMAN SWEATING. ( (Rec. March 31, 10.15 p.m.) Paris, March 30. The delegation is considering the Labour Commission's report. The Commission asks that the cardinal points be inserted in the Peace Treaty, on the ™ grounds that as Germany is unlikely to be in the league of Nations, she would bo free to mako her labour conditions suclr as would hamper' the -nations subscribing to the Commission's decisions.— Aus.-N.Z, Cable Assn.. JAPANAGREES London, March 29. It is learned that the Japanese subscribe generally to the terms of the Labour Commission, with reservations on the questions of child labour and the right of association among womem The Japanese do not desire to see in Japan a combination of workmen in various industries with its concomitant of agita- ; tion and unrest.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.