Annals of Toil

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 50, 23 February 1912, Page 14

Annals of Toil

The laborers engaged in the freezing works near Mastorton have been organised into a union by Messrs. Laracy and It. Mcßac. It is the intention to register under tine Trades Union Act and join the N.Z.F.L. # * * A meeting of delegates representing the various branches of the New Zealand Engiiiedrivcrs' Federation is taking place in Wellington this week. The biennial conference of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants will be held on'the 2Gth inst. at Wellington. Delegates representing all branches of tho railway service will be present, and questions affecting all branches of the service will come up for consideration. * * * The trackmen employed by the Railway Department upon the Lyttelton wharf havo been granted the increase in wages won by the Lyttoltos Waterside Workers' Union. It is to he hoped that they will now have intelligence enough to get into the organisation they rightly belong to. They permit the' Lyttelton Union to do the fighting and bear the expense, then squeal for similar concessions. # * * The Manawatu Flannill Employees' Union has appointed representatives to meet the employers in conference to discuss questions in connection with the industry. • • • • During the past quarter the income of the British Gas Workers' Union has increased by £5200 as compared with the previous quarter. The membership has increased by 20,933 and the total membership at present is 68,17 i. • # * The unwelcome gas made its presence felt in some 01 the mines in the Thames last week. In the Saxon mine, where they are enlarging tho shaft, it was particularly dense, and the men had to hurriedly leave their work, enter the cage, and "ring" to the engineroom. They were promptly hauled to the surface. A hose had to be turned down the shaft—the other compartment forming the upcast-—and the gas broken up and forced out in this manner before the men could resume ,work. It will be remembered that it was in the Thames whero the inrush of ga» caused the death of two miners last month. • * • From different parts of Canterbury a number of complaints have been received by the Department of Labor of alleged broaches of the shearers' award, and of alleged non-compliance with the statutory provisions in re spect to shearers' accommodation. These matters are being inquired into at present by tho Department. * * * A conference of representatives of tne various coal-mining companies of the West Coast was held in Reofton recently to discuss the demands made by the Denutics' Unions. » *• * A shortage of experienced miners is reported from the Denniston and Millerton mining centres. * * * Last week it was reported that serious trouble was imminent at a Duller colliery, caused by the officiousness of somo understrapper suffering from an acute attack of swelled head. * # * It is stated that the Wellington Typographical Society will soon celebrate its fiftieth birthday. « « • A sum of £5954 9s. has passed through the hands of the secretary to the Seamen's Union (Mr. W. T. Young) during the past ten years. A total of £T4G ss. teas received in the first six months of that period, while the concluding six months showed an advance to £691 10s. * * # The annual mooting of the Canterbury Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Union was held on Thursday, February 8. The annual report showed that the Union was in a satisfactory position numerically and financially. The assets exceeded the liabilities by £205 Is. 7d. An appeal from the President of the Trades and Labor Council to _ rejoin that body was dismissed, and it was unanimously resolved not to reaffiliato at present. As a result of a discussion on the Mills unity schome, it was resolved that as the primary object of the promoters was to form a political organisation on party lines, it would not be in the best interests of the Union to join the scheme or in any way support it. • » • There is a great dearth of flaxmill hands throughout Southland at the present time, and good wages are being offered, up to 10b. per day for ordinary hands and 325. 6d.,' per ton for scutohers. In the height of. the flaxmilling industry the highert prioe paid irai'SOt. ,