AUSTRALIAN STRIKE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9792, 16 October 1917, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN STRIKE

.•UPENDING LEGISLATION DRASTIC MEASURE CONCERNING UNIONS. ■ t ’ United Press Association—CopyrishtSYDNEY, October 15. Mr G. S. Beeby, State Minister for Labour,--in a speech, outlined pending industrial' legislation. It was proposed to adopt drastic measures in regard to unions which possessed awards and which- strike. Unions may register under tho Act. or keep outside. In the latter case they must give reasonable notice- tq the Industrial Department before striking. Arbitration laws must be made enforceable. Regulations will bo made.for secret ballots .oUthe unions on grave’issues, and for the control of union entrance fees. SOME OF ITS LESSONS ‘‘UNIONISTS EMERGE STRONGER. BETTER, AND WISER.” - Mr-E. J. -Kavanagh (secretary of the ■New South Wales Labour Council) preeantetf a report on the recenc strike to a special meeting of "tbe J-abour Uou.u■•vHe said "that during the .seven years : ho had... occupied the position of secretary. Jie had never been placed in suen. "a peculiar position as he was then, iio irof report much as he would l Uke k -nor. in a way ■ tnat he would IIK.O, ..hut..ho could place sufficient inrormu-t-idn "before tho delegates to show tiiemi •where-the council stood, u - '-From the outset the constitution or the Labour ’Couinoil had been ignored. Tlho council was in no way responsible for the' 'strike or its extension. tho co.mineflicameJQt of tho trouble, the nx?.ohUvo . of the council met delegates* ‘ from "the unions affected by- the introduction of fhe. card system. Some ol tho unions or sections of some unions had decided to take certain action, and •'iid'fdas told pointblank. iftat; irrespec-* 0- of -the I#)wu* Council, they would xgo right on. .To that the; executive or atHoA'(Labour • CounoU replied that they 1- .would refuse to shoulder any xesponsi- . bilfty, {Hear, hear.) At the same time * tne executive decided that, notuntjistandwife ' breaking of its constitution, it could mot stand on technicalities when "a. sitotibrn of the workers was up against As far as he was concerned he was not prepared to run away. Had he done bo- be wquld 'have been worse than, the* .-worst ''soak” that oyer walked in shoe--icatbcr. (Applause.) Notwithstanding ‘ that" sonic Of {he unions Involved were* not affiliated with the council, they had l ail .stood together in a fight that was .got of. their P\m gepking. • , ~ When he attended a meeting of tho. Cabinet he had ■ indicated, what, wpukv happen, if the card system were. hprioduoed. He also .informed Cabinet that* Mr Eraser also knew of the trouble Dint 1 would follow. During his .experience in the trade union mo.ve-raent he had learnff three lessons—how■ to. do-a thing, whereto do it, -and when to do it. If the-l.-.iljour Council had had cha-Tge of tha trouble those lessons would have been brought into play. As it wna. the. strike occurred at, a tune when it suited the* Government down to the ground. If tho strike proved anything it provedthefailure of “direct action/' of unions* organised on arbitration lines. Tht) -pmicy ofj-the qouncjl' had been arbitra-* {ion,. :They ■ had -taken deputations to* (he Government and had almost plead-* ed for the postponement of the mtro-t Auction of the card system so as to, avoid 1 trouble. They were. not listened* tod-becaiise- -it was thought that thermions,., would not take action. 80, .would .say, in conclusion, that as one, hp.yi.hg had an experience of thirtyyears’ in the ' trade union movement, 'unionists would emerge from the present trouble stronger, better, and wiserthan —when they went into it. (Applause.) 'After'‘ : a'brief'disohssioJji the report was adopted. “BRAINS, NOT PASSIONS" HOW UN|ON3 GAN WINAt a . special meeting of- the Labour ChuhciJ a cominittoa. was appointed to devise 'a scheme for the bettor organisation- of dha trades union movement. - idr.'A.' 'C, Willis (Coal and Shale Em-ployees'.-Federation), in speaking on the o utatioh.. said they had all remised that trades unionism had reached a stage when in -fauauicl be organised on new lines and . permeated with naw ideas. Ho was in favour of the one big tipion-idea, but. not because it would place unionists, in 'a position that would enable them to paralyse industry-, for that meant hardship to the community, and 'those ..who favoured that were- a monace to the ' workers. Unfortunately, the strike to-day was a necessary evil. The work-er-had" the same right to withhold his labour as had tho capitalist who withheld hia.v.qapital untij, he thought (it. (Applause-) ’ The capitalist practised ■sabotage’ oh a huge scale, and if some -workers at tho other end of the social scale believed in sabotage they were .merely following the example set by ..theto, go-j-aUed masters. ’’ Iriuniimists -were to win out, it would : ba by'a Proper system of organisation, and. by Using their brains and not their Passions- They- should consider the. questjon of owning the means of production.’ distribution, and exchange. ' Why could'nof’tho A.W.K. own i(« own sta-tions;-‘and the coal miners their own mines? Tho wav out was to so direct their: energies as to strike out on lines of guild -socialism, where huge organisations instead of fighting employers would ..rapidly acquire, tile, weans of forcing 'the employer out of the market altogether. For-unionism to organise on ; th6 : '''T>rniciple of preparing fog- a fight wias-simply to nioT'a in. a c-irole, Ha d?d not advocate State, Socialism, which was only State capitalism. Ip conclusion. Mr 'Willis appealed to aindonists not- to be dise-nuraged a% a rfoujt of the strike- What else could -tfii.y ejppot? Had 3 Eabour Government been, in power the workers would expect ftrid look after its own class. That was, AT-h'wt- toe 'present Government had done, -•soi-why'should thev whine? It was un<-:sp-crtsmnnlike- They -had been given a.flogging. Det them take it manfully anfl. be "wiser in the. future. ; AFTERMATH OF STRIKE HELPLESS SUFFERERS. BELIEF FOE WOMEN AND CHILDREN.' SYDNEY, October 3. The Xibrd Mayor of Sydney (Aid, E. D. Meagher) presided over a public meeting in the vestibule of the Town Hall to initiate a public movement to alleviate the wants of helpless women and children now enduring privation through the effects of the strike. The Lord Mayor said that the requisition > ho had received was signed by clergymen and other prominent citizens. In this hour of need they must endeavour to give Christian help to succour those suffering through the past crisis. They must not indulge in any jaundicedeyed criticism. In a Christian country they did’ pot a-sk if a -man was black, white, or yellow, a labourer or a capitalist- -They should remember their soldiers on the battlefield who handed their water-bottles to a wounded Hun. It was

necessary to hold broad views, and not say vrhether the strike had rigat or ivrong. No wonieii or children ixiyisbe allowed to go liungrv in a city liKe this. He vrouid bo asbaiac-d to trunk that should liaupen with, our potcntialitv for ucalth. "Wnen they 01 , V 3 .* amount oj money spent at the ITaiiav*ick races, -when they read of tho famished woman whose child had. tUcd at breast on the steps of the -trades uaii, it made them think. One ot vho ladies of the relief committee had brought Tin* tier his notice natheuc cases of famines having been sold up in Surry Hills. One woman, alter all the furmtuie ox her house had been taken, was confined on the floor of tho empty house, and a Chinaman had taken compassion on her and brought along a stretcher. He posed that they should oocm a to relievo destitute women a *id C v4 r «S’ and that the Govc-rument should juh* cidiso the funds. He would auapge that the chief Town Halls ln r th r Q should be converted into relief depots at once. He appreciated the fidelity of the men who stuck to a principle and ho admired their staunchness in the w«J they had suffered Mscilmr. His appreciation also went out to fbe nomen who had Stuck to their iU/WanW. “Those women,” concluded the Ford Mayor, “were tbe evergreens of life, Gpd bless every one oi them. . .. Mies MialtfcheWci moved the that in vi>w of the appaUingdmtr-os=, Stops bo tokegi at onco to open » for the purpose of m/ias reliof to d« tituifce ißomen and children in toe to* 51 ’ TK'die resolution, Mia, MjjgfchoU said that a roliaf canwtobtee,_ wJth Mrs Charles as honorary secretap, had Worked day and night to help _woj«ou who came for braad. and w-ara ttod to take the merest subsigtonco. Ovar, IBj COO had been distributed by too re.sy, commuKtee to the woman and children (1! atrihani at tho TradHalil, and a great portion of th# -money had boon handled by the women a .ocuntotohe. Albout 1(100 Women with their children camo d(a.ilv for roliaf. . Miss Itose S-coitt, who. secondiod lto| motion, which W'fUs carried, Stow that they wanted no or toqws or such rubbisfi. She wrghed Ml classes were fcuii-ied in the Sea* (AdrpM off•) Dtoan Talbot ‘thanked the h°rd >toyor for his symparthy, M wbis a hrevd-minded and la.nge-heartoo man. and he hoped ho would peettpy tire Lord iSayorafi chair for many yoa'to to ennie. The wtheh day a s m aH appeal was made for the relief j>f women. «tod| cliildron, to whiph his natoo ‘Was Attached. Go that people might not misjudge him by aaying that he had top W.ucn symprtthy, and his sympathy ran a, way with his judgment, he would like to mention flha.t toe namai of Archdeacon Boyce) that of the reotor o-f St. Peter s, Woolloomoqroo, and a, member of the Churoh Society were al|9 atitaohwl to that ailpoal- it E* 3 rim« tomeijhdng w«9 dope 'to Teljove the «?» tress. ‘ It was very certain the womenand ohtMyop W«td not to blfmq.. the women -affeotod to the present distress were the \Uonmn wfio w.er© dpfng Btto than any flfher BCdti'on «? th® PWPft* muptty tor tho WltoW.ldtog of Apotto' Ua. They h®d, gladly given np their sons to fight Tor to® hanovv ofi Australia. it wpia nqt cnvly ft food, they what giro tho Wum-en r?hh money and clothes, Eemlufiona were oa rried to ths efle«t that for tha purpose of carrying net the first resolution am oxeciutivo obmmtote® be njiipoii'nltfjd, to ephaidt of two repr*. eaifliatdvto from toe folltoving hodito W-ihh the chairman,- Rt. V‘inc®»t'a do Plant Society, Gity JLtesion, fi'rados and Labour Council and IVpmfn’s Relief C'prbmitte.e eledtod from that met(tipg. Also that a ’ deinytation the mamineAs of puch committee and M.L-A-’s of the nttoropoMfi wait nppp the Goveru-mcnt for ft snhridy to oa r Ty bu't to4sff tohiedM. PFACF ANP POVERTY POSITION AT BROKEN HILL. UNIONISM THROWS IN THH THVVHto ’ ‘ A well-known union -secretary of Broken HiU. writing to ft uhio.npft tA the -Sydney Trades, Wl, discusato tim indusiiriai positmnl He says :--“I _ regret to acksowjodgfj that tho figfit ns qvey, with a win tor the other-side, becaUße upninisßft to not tiuinod enough tq go tfle/fuji term* Having bad seconds, they had to tfipaw in tho towel, onto getting tho losing enfl pf the purse. Hera in Broken ’ Hill tha result is no bettem The Amialgainated Miners’ Association declared tho fightbh. pnd.tha Trades and 'Labour dounc.il.took the matter «n the" das 'after, with t-U» result that the Trades and Labour Coun, c:i has now declared th® fight all, while tha A-M.A. is stall out. waiting' fog* the result, of the ooalias 1 canferonce. ' Tho mines here show no figp of opening, but allowed us to sign forms of aupiioatisn f®r re-employment, Nq eaUsfaotoiy statement, ha® been aiv-eii «s to whan we van «tart, There is plenty 0 { la, boftr here in spite of th® soJidarjty howl, ready and willing to go in to-day, There is no motley here and little assistance The cause of this, is th® high cost of living, and I regret that I was instructed to apply to your uniqn apd fitfior branches for assistance, whiefi j per. sonally do pot think it phHjbl.e tq into tain.

“On hearing the report of cup dele, gate who has’ just rMufpecf from Sydney. we iara all patdsflpd that had rye kept at work until ’want of coal Stopped us,’ w® might have given fhe Sydney gitji, the right assistance, instead of going insane, and dpiiig harm to tjia Sydney fighters and ourselves- “ However. I think this is only the forerunner of a great industrial up* heaval to come, when it will take leva! heads to manage it.' We pave Xhdiea--Inapoctor John Fullerton ‘and ft few more, who have arrested something like fifty militonts-rAi.M-A*’'' and y.W.W.who have been committed fer trial for raiding the mines. The prevailing fop, lures here ar® heaoa and poverty.’’*