THE LABOUR MOVEMENT
[By J.S.S.]
Brief contribution! cm matter! with reference to the Labour Movement are invited. WORKERS PARTLY TO BLAME Engineering unions in. New Zealand, once splendidly consolidated and powerful. have depreciated sadly in lighting strength since the onslaught of the depression. Mr James Roberts, secretary of the Alliance of Labour, stressed this aspect to Christchurch engineers and other provincial union representatives who met in Christchurch recently to discuss with employers terms lor a new dominion award. Mr Roberts stated that the parties had failed to come to an agreement, as the representatives of the workers would not agree to accept the low wage of Is URd an hour for highly-skilled workers. He pointed out that the workers themselves were partly responsible for the present position. They had not paid sufficient attention to the business of their union. At present they did not have compulsory arbitration, and the only powei they had to compel the employers to grant them a satisfactory agreement was their own organisation. He belie.vcd that such an agreement could be’ obtained provided the workers in ihe industry would co-operate, in their own organisation, and also with their fellow-workers in other industrial undertakings. The policy of the employers in wage cutting was preventing New Zealand from returning to normal economic life, and he held that one o) the principal reasons why the depression continued was the low wage paid to the workers. The trade union movement had a function to fulfil, and that was to improve the standard of life of the people of New Zealand. He did not believe that the people of New Zealand would agree with the suggestion that skilled workers should be paid a wage of only Is 10* an hour, arid he suggested to the engineers and allied trades that they place their case before the public and they could rest assured of unanimous support. Mr G. T. Thurston, general secretary ol the Amalgamated Engineering Union, said, at the same meeting, that he agreed with Mr Robert? that one of the reasons why the employer? were offering such a low wage was that the men encaged in the engineering, and allied trades' did not pay the attention to their union matters they should do. nut the future of the industry depended to a large extent on the policy adopted , by the trade unionist?. There were a section of people in New Zealand, he said, who demanded that every article should be imported from overseas, and this poliev would be followed unless the workers engaged in the metal trades earned on definite propaganda for the reorganisation of the industry generally and a demand for employment, for the skilled workers in this industry. The emplovers offered a low wage because there was unemployment in the industry to-clav, and be anew lor a tact that some of the employers were taking advantage ot the present position as" there was no award in operation. From now onward, he said ; the engineers in the-'Christchurch district, and’ he hoped in other districts, would tindertake to interest .themselves mpre, not onlv in the affairs of the union, but in their, right to be employed in the industry in which they were trained. Mr Burbridge, of Auckland, also spoke to the meeting, and a resolution was unanimously carried 4o the effect that the workers in the engineering trades be informed of the discussions which, took .place, at the Conciliation Council, and that a further massmeeting of the engineers be held in Christchurch, Dunedin, and Auckland, in order that the Engineering Union, in cooueration witli the rest of the Labour movement, could place before the public. and if necessary Parliament, the necessity of providing employment for the workers engaged in the engineering and allied trades and insisting on a reasonable wage being paid to these highly-skilled workers. * * * * DOMESTIC SERVANT PROBLEM. The Wellington ‘' Dominion’s ’ special Auckland correspondent has made inquiries into the employment problem as it affects domestic servants. There is no doubt that many girls in every town in New Zealand are averse to domestic service, particuarly in private homes. Inquiries made in local trade union circles bear out the statements made in the Auckland article, apappended hereunder i—Although there were many unemployed girls, it was stated that a large majority of these were seeking work in offices and factories. If they were inclined to domestic work they preferred employment in an institution rather than in a private house. The reason for this was given that in an institution both hours and duties were, more or less cut and dried. In a private house tasks outside the set routine were constantly cropping up. There was also .the social factor. The modern girl was unhappy without ample opportunity for the companionship of other young people. In an institution, even when girls were engaged in -the dnilv task, there was frequent scope for working side by side with friends.' For this reason hotels had little difficulty in getting good servants. Added to the institutional atmosphere there was tlft; interest in a constantly changing population. Much of the trouble was placed at the door of the employer. It appeared that one of the first economiesto be effected during times of depression had been in the pay of the domestic staff. This bad had the tendency of driving girls; even those with good training, to seek employment in factories and institutions. Again, domestic servants found that their duties were constantly increasing. Cases had occurred in x which girls had been expected. in addition to their normal housework, to cook a special dinner and serve it, after which they might have to cater for a bridge party and . probably attend to the wants of several children. All this they were sometimes expected to do for a sum of 15s a. week. To this might be added the heavy labour involved in the laundry work of a fair-sized family. The treatment of servants was discussed by the manager of another registry office. It was stated that many people who had domestic help were not themselves trained to appreciate the personal comfort of their servants. One case was cited of a girl who was compelled to leave a position because her room was bitterly cold on winter evenings. Young servants found it hard to get employment because of their lack of training. Few employers apparently set out to work patiently at the domestic education of the young girl. On the other hand, middle-aged servants constituted another problem, as, with their set views, they often preferred tp leave a position rather than change their domestic procedure. There was a tendency in these cases to resist any interference, on the part of the employer.. Another factor discussed was that o! references. Few people eared to employ a girl who had no testimonials. This was a handicap suffered by girls from overseas, where often ihc practice of making inquiric; from tlje late employer was preferred to that of relying
on written testimonials. Again, after several years of employment in one home a girl often sought a change This was sometimes regarded as a per son..! affront to the employer, and efficient service might he rewarded by a lukewarm testimonial, “ Most people want a cook-general nowadays," said another employment office manager. “The straight-out cook is hard to place, excepting in hotels. Naturally, the openings for this class are limited, and fewer people are employing conks for that work alone. Hotel cooks are generally unfitted for work in private houses, the two tasks being quite different." ♦** ■ * SWEATING IN CANADA. Revelations of sweated conditions in Ontario and Quebec have been made in the Canadian Parliament, and have caused a political sensation. In Toronto the conditions arc amazing. A public welfare official revealed that thousands of heads of families are working long hours weekly and receiving an insufficient wage to support their families. The city is supplementing their earnings with direct relief. This is branded as State subsidisation of industry Conditions in Quebec are appalling. A provincial minimum wage official reported that biscuit manufacturers are employing girls at one dollar fifty cents (6s) a week. Wages in textile mills of two and three dollars (8s to 12s) a week are common. Girls arc paid three cents a pair for making boys’ pants. The Quebec boot and shoe industry is guilty of scandalous sweat-shop practices. Girls are worked seventy-two and seventy-five hours a week for two cents an hour or one dollar fifty cents (6s) a week. The shoe manufacturers dismissed girls earning seven and eight dollars (28s to 325). and hired boys for three and four dollars (12s to 16s) a week. The statute presumes that men receive a higher wage, but the evidence proved that many employers dismissed women and hired married men with families to support at from six dollars to nine dollars (24s’ to 365) a week. * * i|l MIDDLE-CLASS HEALTH INS UR- ‘ ANCE SCHEME. Definite regulations have now been drawn up for the Hospitals Service Association of Merseyside, a contributory scheme for persons of moderate means who reside within fifteen miles of Liverpool. Tb-scheme has only become possible by the goodwill of the doctors and tlie hospitals, who, in an attempt to meet the present difficulties affecting persons of moderate means, have agreed to the principles of the project. 1 These are some of the benefits of the. scheme Cost of maintenance in a private bed of a hospital, or a co-operative nursing home, for a period of twenty-one days, or such longer period (if necessary) as the association may decide. The whole of the surgeons’ fees in respect of any operation performed in hospital or cooperating nursing home. The fees of the anaesthetists in respect of any such operation. Where it is necessary the radiologists's fees for X-ray examinations during the subscriber's stay in hospital. In cases of serious illness necessitating removal to hospital, the whole of the physicians’ fees in respect of the illness whilst the subscriber is in hospital or cooperating nursing home. Where an examination by- a pathologist in hospital or nursing home is necessary. The subscription to the association’is £2 12s a year (or Is per week), and qualification for becoming a member is that a subscriber with no dependants should have a gross income not exceeding £4OO. a subscriber with one dependant not exceeding £6OO. or with more than, one dependant not exceeding £6OO. Art important point is that all 'these benefits will also apply to a subscriber's dependants. *** . * COMPANY UNIONS. ■The serious shipping dispute on the Pacific coast.of the United States, which has had its repercussions in New Zealand ports, has drawn much attention to the trouble over the company unions. The following statement bearing on the subject is taken from the ‘ Christian Science Monitor ’ “ The company union is a shop affair. with outsiders excluded. These unions extend responsibilities to Labour over matters of Labour welfare—savings. building and loan, lunch services, recreation, and the like—as well as over hours and wages. On the other hand, no workers of their own initiative have organised a company union. The power that creates company unions can destroy them. Worker representatives not only must not antagonise the management—for that mehns discharge—but are ignorant of labour conditions in other plants and other sections even in the same industry, and. moreover, are untrained in the tactics of bargaining; thus the representatives are usually tjmid. ignorant, and unskilled negotiators. No truly equally sided collective bargaining is possible in company unions. A company union cannot strike because it lias no treasury, or one limited to its own .members: it cannot get the help of other workers in the same industry." Consequently a company union has no power of compulsion over an employer. ’’ * ■> * » Women in Chinese industries. Women in Chinese industries receive verv low wages, and in many cases work under terrible conditions, according to information collected by the International Labour Office and published in ‘ Industrial and Labour Information.’ Their daily hours of work are generally not less than ten. Night work i» common, the shifts usually lasting from 6 pan. to 6 a.m. “ Most of the workers are insufficiently nourished.” states the report. “ They hare to get up at 4.30 in the morning in order to cook their food. Their breakfast consists of some salted vegetables, together with a little rice Their midday meal is of rice, with a piece of’ salted fish and some vegetables. which they take with them to- their work. Their daily task finished, they arc generally too tired to cook a meal, so that their supper would not be more than a large cake, the Chinese bread, which they ean buy.” No adequate provision is made for housing these workers. Most of the women, it is said, hire together in groups of four or five a room in which they place the necessary number of beds. Other women herd together in old huts, the roofs and walls of which are in such a had state that they can hardly he considered habitable. Factory work rooms are generally so crowded with workers that the air space is insufficient. Ventilation and lighting are bad. and eye trouble results. The workers are closely supervised by foremen and forewomen, who may punish them by scolding, heating, or by a fine or one or two days’ wages, or even by dismissal. Women very often bring their babies or small children to the factories, the babies being placed on the floor underneath the work table or the machine at which the mother is occupied, while children of two to six rears can ho scon playing about, in the workroom between the machines.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19340621.2.19
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Evening Star, Issue 21752, 21 June 1934, Page 3
Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,269THE LABOUR MOVEMENT Evening Star, Issue 21752, 21 June 1934, Page 3
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Allied Press Ltd is the copyright owner for the Evening Star. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Allied Press Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.