THE CABINET-MAKING DEAD – LOCK. A Case of Pickles.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 142, 21 March 1903, Page 8

THE CABINET-MAKING DEAD - LOCK. A Case of Pickles.

THAT is a nice little imbroglio m the cabinet-making trade up m Auckland The Aibitration Court fixed the minimum w age the other day at twopence an houi higher than was the standard previously. Thereupon, the masters put up their backs, declared they could not afford to pa,\ the increased minimum, and gave notice t^ their hands. Some hundred and twenty were consigned to idleness, and their w ail has gone forth through the land Since then, the masters appeaj to have modified their attitude to the extent of taking on, at the awarded wage, a limited number of men whom they regaid as competent. But they niaintaiin that the bulk of the workers are incompetent, and they refuse to employ them to their own alleged less # *• * It is difficult to see what the Court 01 the Government can do just now if the master cabinet-makers in Auckland adhere to their original determination to abandon their manufacturing operations altogether, and import their gooc's fiom abroad rather than pay wages wh'ch entad a loss Of course, the Government might ask Parliament to lay an embargo upon furniture importations bv raising the duty then-eon from 2o to 3"> per cent , as Mr H Tow mend oalmlv suggested at the deputation to the Piemier this week. In that case, the whole community would be penalised for the benefit of the local furniture trade And if one trade isi to be bolstered up in that way by piohibitive duties, at the expense of the people at large, why not many other trades? The effect of that sort of thing would be to so laigelv magnify the cost of living in this happ\ countiy that, in spite of artificially high wages, everybody would be eager to get out of it # - * We are glad to note that the Piemiei lent no countenance to the suggestion that the dut-\ on imported furnituie .should be raised to the absuid limit of 30 per cent If the local trade cannot get aJoug without ciutches of that sort it had bettei be left to its fate Revet tmg to the main i=suc>, "if the masteis will only employ skilled woikmen at the minimum wage, and these skilled workmen die willing, and aie also un'onists who is to compel them to-do otliei wise ° Is tins a free countiv oa aie we seifs and bondmen s r. +■ * Tho court) \ will stand a lot of inteifoiciice with the hbertv of the subject, so long as it squares with fair play and makes for the geneial good. But it won't stand high-handed compulsion m the mteiest of any class or party A man has a perfect right to decline to employ labour at a late which means a peisonal loss And b-\ parity of reasoning, a man has a peifect right to refuse to sell his labour at a rate which won't pay the liwng expenses of himself and famih You may as well try to sweep back the flowing tide with a broom as seek to compel men by legal enactment 01 court .decrees to work at a loss It simply can't be done # *■ * In the case of the Auckland cabinetmakers, the law is to be invoked to punish them for breach of award On the facts as stated in the dailv press this action would appear to be lather

piematuie If they are- cv adni|° tlio piefeu-n.ee to unionists by bringing m tu'o la,boui trom outside, or it they aie emplovmg \.-ithout a peimit alleged incompetents" at less than the niinijmim wage, no doubt thov have made themselves, answerable to the law . But, it the\ dimply mjkc a selection ot union men whom they legard as competent, and give tihem the prescribed late ot pay, and refuse to take on any others, siuelv they are withm their lights 9 And if they decide to abandon altogether the making of furnituie, what light or powei lias the Government to compel them to do otheiwise There is sound co-mmonsense wiapped up in the old proverb that you may take a hoise to the water, but aou cannot make him drink. +. * * Ot couise, if it is tiue, a.s alleged that the. Auckland employeis aie making large profits by flooding the lest of the country with cheap furniture thiough sweating their hands, then it is quite right that they should be told to toe the line They cannot expect to be excused from conditions which the emp'oyeas oi Wellington, Cbristchurch, and Dunedin aie obliged to obseive But it is within, their option to restrict, the r operations if they choose, by onh employing unionist artisans who are woith the minimum wage In th's connection, it is a bit funn\ to observe how quickly circumstances change cases. Severed weeks ago some of the caipenteis of Wellington weie going to smash things, and play up Old Hamgenerally because the Court decieed a less wage than they wanted And, by threatening to strike, they actually induced some of the masters to pay them a higher waige than the Court decreed 'Now the boot is on the othei leg. It is the turn o-f these Auckland employers to kick against the Court's award. And forthwith the whole body of unionists are up on their hind-legs, and loudly demand that the Court aud the Government shall reduce the malcontents to instant submission.