WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 February 1921, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE INDUSTRIAL OUTLOOK. DIFFICULTIES AHEAD. (Our Special Correspondent). WELLINGTON, Feb. 11

Others than the confirmed pessimist are predicting industrial difficulties in the near future. Many bodies of workers have received since the beginning of the war substantial increases in pay to balance, in some measure, at any rate, the increased cost of living and several of them are pressing at the present moment for still further increases. The employers generally, however, .are taking tiie view that the prices of commodities that can be numbered among the necessaries of life have reached their maximum, and that the tendency from this forward will be rather downward than upward. If this view is correct, and it appears to be supported by the official statistics, difference of opin-

ion between the parties may follow as a natural sequence. THE COAL DISPUTE. The coal dispute, of course, does not involve the question of wages at present. The resumption of normal work ~t the mnies—the condition insisted upon by the employers —has cleared the way for the meeting of the committee that is to adjudicate upon the alleged case of victimisation at Blackball, and it, is hoped that an amicable settlement may he reached in the course of a week or so, and that all fear of trouble in this industry may he removed for the time being. The seamen, too, have displayed their good common sense by accepting the bonus of 10s a month offer-

ed by the owners instead of pressing for the I‘2 a month they demanded themselves. Their present agreement does not expire till February of next year, and by that lime industrial allairs may have settled down. RESISTING A REDUCTION. The attitude of the carpenters, who have refused to accept a reduction ol wages from .‘ls to 2s 9d an hour, is more bellicose. “Over 000 carpenters in Wellington arc earning Js an hour anti they all have refused to accept any reduction,’’ one ol the officials of the ( aipeutors’ Society said this morning. “ Many of them are single men and these at any rate would go to wherctliev could get still hotter pay rather than submit to a reduction, f arpenters are earning as much as 27s a day in Sydney tit the present time, and there is work enough there to keep them going for just as long as they want employment..” The carpenters’ lenr.ud for a forty-hour week and a minimum wage of -is an hour was discussed by the Conciliation Council to-day, hut the men’s representatives showed no dis-

position to give way. THE SHEARER’S DISPUTE

The dispute between the Wellington Shearers’ and Shed Hands’ ’» tiiou ai d the Shecpownors’ Union ol Ei-ip'**, vrs

was before the Conciliation ('■ unci' yesterday with little prospect <! an amicable settlement. The employ-, s were anxious to gel to the Aro Cation Court as speedily as possible, but Hie representatives of the men simply scouted a suggestion to <“* V’R'ct.

“So far as wo are concern'd,'’ one ol them declared, “we will not go before the Court and if there is to be an agree-

ment we must have it direcct Hum t! < employers.” This is the settl-vl at'it.ude of the men. They arc pt*’paied. they say,' to make some concession on account ot the altered coil l i i 'lit-wool-growing industry, but they ide e positively to accept the rates offered by the employers or to allow the Court to decide between the parties. Ihal is where the dispute stands tc d ly.

WATERSIDE DISPUTE. SHIPOWNERS’ FIRM WELLINGTON, Feu. 11 The announcement that tim slop owners had presented ultimatum t> \h- waterside worker' dciiiund nc th.it they should abandon their “ go-slow policy or make room for the introduction of a better system appears to have been a little premature. It is a fact, however, that the owners have determined to put an end to the present unsatisfactory state of affairs even if it involves tying up their ships tor a time and a cessation of work on the wharves. The refusal of a large seetim of the mf u to work overtime under vv concitions whatever is already putting the owners to a great (leal of inconvenience and loss, and they could not be in a much worse position if busiims.s wmo suspended altogether. To-morrow is expected to he the dav of decision. THE CABIN NT.

The report that Mr Domic Stev is to l»e the new member of the Cabinet, first published in these notes, has been re-eclmed from Dunedin and has been received here with general satisfaction. Mi Stewart’s devotion to the original Reform Government was not effusive, as mav he judged from his speech on the Address-in-Reply in 1915; but. since then lion. W. F. Massey has

moved so far along progressive line's there would he nothing inconsistent in the member for Dunedin West accepting a sTat in his Cabinet. In any case, his promotion to an office in which he wool dhave a widei siopc than lie has as a private member h.r the <■xerci.se of his clear thinking and ready understanding would he welcomed bv all political parties as a distinct acquisition to a Ministry that stands in need of these qualities. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. It is just upon forty years since Sir John Hall, then Premier, relegated to a commission the task of recommending reforms in the Public Service that would make for economy without impairing efficiency. Now Mr Massey is proposing to follow the example, of one of the most conscientious and capable of bis predecessors. The commission oi 1881, as one might have expected from its constitution, suggested drastic reforms throughout the service, but the Government of the day had not the necessary courage to take them in banc and the notorious “ ten per cent reduction ” was the expedient by which it attempted to save its face. Mr Masse> is not. lacking in courage, and probably has a freer hand than Sir John Hall had, but the task he is contemplating is a stupendous one that may easily make or mar a great reputation. CRICKET. On Saturday afternoon Wellington further signalled the revival of its interest in cricket by attending ten thousand

strong at the Basin Reserve to witness the continuation of the match between the Australian visiting team and the Wellington representatives. The play was distinctly disappointing, compared with the displays made by both teams on the opening day, and Wellington half holiday makers voted the Australians not nearly so formidable as they had expected them to he. Of course the people who know most about the game always are to be found among the onlookers, but after making allowance for this fact it would seem that the visitors have a very considerable “tail,” and that with a little* luck, a N.Z. team possessing more bowling strength than was available on Saturday and half a dozen enterprising batsmen would gi't--1 a good account of itselt.