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Hokitika Guardian, 27 September 1926, Page 2

Sn-c.u.MCO labour disputes seem to have their seasons, like Christinas, and shell a. se.'isdil appears to have arrived ; it is obvious also snyS the Mercantile Gazette, in a trenchant article on the subject, that the agitators have been taking counsel, and are determined to battle for exti-eme wages hours and conditions. 11l the Wellington district there have heeii filed claims for new awards h.v the ,Motor Mechanics’ Union, the Plumbers’ Union, ami the Metal Workers’ Union, and in all eases the demand is for a 40-hour week, with a substantial increase in wages, and lin piece-work. ’The effrontery of such demands at the present time, continues the paper, is positively amazing, and serves to show in what small respect the Arbitration Court is held by the political parasites who lead the workers and control the unions. Of course, the claims advanced are considerably in excess oT what the so-call-ed leaders or union bosses, are willing to accept,, but it is hoped that (ho usual policy of “split the difference'’ which for the Arbitration Court is the lino of least resistance, will give the workers more than they would otherwise secure. It seems that both the workers and the Court have become obsessed with the idea that wages are derived from some fountain that is constantly flowing with abundance of riches, and so for years while wages have risen, production has remained stationary, if if has not actually declined.