BUILDING TRADE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 137, 7 December 1938, Page 4

BUILDING TRADE

A STATE OF CHAOS

CONCILIATION REVELATION

LABOURERS' DISPUTE

Refusal by the representatives of employers of general labourers to consider proposals for the inclusion in a new Dominion award of clauses providing for increased wages and for the payment of employees in that class on a weekly basis with allowance for holidays resulted in a deadlock in the industrial dispute heard yesterday at Wellington before the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. S. Ritchie). The employers' representatives contended that the building industry, which was the industry principally concerned, was economically unable to meet the demands, and the representatives of the unions concerned argued that if the conditions were improved the output of the men would increase. Mention was made of the possible registration of builders which the employers' representatives considered would, by elimination of unstable builders with insufficient capital, lead ultimately to improved conditions in the industry, and the employees' representatives expressed their willingnes to co-operate with employers to bring that about. The proceedings were adjourned until today to enable the parties concerned to consider a means of approach to closer agreement. The employees are asking for increased rates of pay starting from a basic rate of £5 a week for "unskilled" workers, in place of the present basic rate of 2s 4d an hour. Mr. W. J. Mount joy appeared as advocate for the employers and Mr. P. M. Butler for the applicant unions. The assessors are as 1 ollows:—Em-1 ployees: Miss M. B. Howard (Christchurch) and Messrs. R. Harrison (Dunedin),' R. N. Shaw (Wairarapa), R.; Fulton (New Plymouth), T. Stanley (Auckland), D. Harris (Invercargill), and L., Glover (Wellington). Employers: Messrs. W. A. Petrie (Timaru), P. Dolling (Christchurch), R. * Cornish (Auckland), W. Ellis (Dunedin), H. Meyer (Wellington), A. Fletcher (Wellington). INTERPRETATION CLAUSE. The following interpretation clause i was agreed to: "This award, shall apply j to the building and contracting and allied industries, general labouring work, stone quarries, sand, scoria and; shingle pits and dumps, loading and unloading shingle, stone, or sand on barges and road making, in so far as it relates to workers employed in the aforesaid industries other than trades- i men or workers specifically covered by any other award or industrial agree-j ment." "We feel that our fellows have had the rough end of the stick," said Mr. Butler. "We think we are entitled to an increase in wages and that the casual nature of the work should be altered." The building industry was the second largest and most important industry in New Zealand, and he knew that some of the employers at present were not doing so badly. It was the only job in New Zealand in which holidays were hot recognised now. The present rate of 2s 4d an hour might sound all right, but it was only worth what Is 8d was ten or twelve years ago. Workers had to pay high rents and the cost of living had gone up. Why could they not have a weekly wage and be paid for holidays? Mr. Fletcher said the only thing for Mr. Butler to do was to ask the Arbitration Court to fall in with his wishes. The employers could not agree to do"! so. Mr. Fletcher quoted figures in sup-, port of his statement that builders were making little or no profit. j QUALITY OF LABOUR. Mr.] Glover said that if what Mr. Fletcher had said was true of most contractors, they should ask why. He said that the quality of labour at- j tracted to a particular class of employment, and therefore the dividends earned by the employer, depended upon the wages and other conditions j offered. It was not possible to separate wages, holidays, and weekly payment from dividends. ■ "Improve wages and conditions! and the efficiency of the men will improve considerably," said Mr. Glover. "To treat men as casual workers with no payment for holidays must attract a low grade of worker into the industry. "With the increase in wages in the building trade there has been a corresponding reduction in output," said Mr. Fletcher. "In 1932 it cost us from 4d to 4£d a square foot for concrete boxing. Today the cost is 8d to 9d. The increase in the cost of materials does not account for more than a halfpenny a foot, and the rise in cost is due to a definite diminution in output. On the library job it is costing us £9 a ton for fixing reinforcing steel. The same work was formerly done by labourers for £3 a ton. If we are forced to pay a weekly wage without safeguards, God knows what the rates will be." "EMPLOYER A PARASITE." Asked what were the reasons for the decreased output Mr. Fletcher said the doctrine had been preached amongst the workers of this country that the employer had to be hammered, that he was only a parasite in the community. "Scrim" and the Ministers had been preaching that production must increase, but a ghost had been raised and would take a lot of laying. Mr. Butler quoted the case of a world-famous motor-car manufacturer with factories in many countries and said it had been found that production costs were lowest in those countries where the highest wages were being paid. In New Zealand, following the depression, when prosperity, returned and wages increased, production "zoomed." Because of the uncertainty of the building industry tradesmen such as carpenters had gone into Government Departments on lower rates of pay for the sake of economic security, as they knew they would receive their wages for 52 weeks in the year. "Take the fellows out of jobs and on relief work," said Mr. Butler.. "They can knock off when it rains and know that their wages are continuing, and they are paid for holidays at Christmas. But if a man on relief work is a builder's labourer and work in the industry is offering, he is forced to leave relief work, where there is security, and go on to a job where there is no security. It is our job to end that state of things. "Give fellows decent wages and conditions and they will respond. What we want is a reasonable apportionment from the national production we are all trying to produce." COST OF BUILDING. Mr. Petrie suggested an adojurnment until the New Year. "We can't see how we can increase the cost of building," he said- "The Government are practically the only people who are building now. No tenders are being

accepted, but a compromise is . beintf reached later '",. by cutting down the builder. If you increase the wages of labourers you will automatically ! increase the wages of all other trades | and so increase the cost of building to the public. Builders and builders' ' labourers would be no better^ off. be- ■■ cause it would mean less building. , Ninety-nine, per cent, of builders are working for the Government and local bodies. Private building is practically at a standstill." Mr. Butler suggested that the present council might be able to assist in an endeavour to have the building industry put on a better basis. There was the question of registration of builders. There w«is no doubt that the industry could put its house in order if it was asked to. The industry was in a state of chaos and would not be on an economic bsisis until licensing was introduced. Because of the present state of chaos workers and employers alike had to suffer.

Mr. Mount] of said builders believed that registration would enable the industry to get on a better footing, but that could not be brought about: in five minutes. •"' ,ir '^

"The employers feel that the£ fcave reached a stage when they can't get past the rates **)f wages the Court ha» fixed," said Mr. Mount joy. "Wei can't give an annual holiday when no other section the building industry-.re-ceives ft." *

At this stage the proceedings wer« adjourned until today.