THE CONDITION OF LABOR IN MELBOURNE.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 7, 23 November 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE CONDITION OF LABOR IN MELBOURNE.

. ([From the' Melbourne AArgus.) '- f 4 ..The- number of bricklayers in- and around the city is'about 350. These artisans are, in comparison with the' other' trades, fewer, in number than is the case in Britain, in consequence of so many of the' buildings here being constructed of stone. As a class, the bricklayers seemed to' haye turned their hands readily enough to other pursuits when they found they could not all obtain employment at their own trade,, and have nbt-^or at least the same degree as other trades— entered upon a competition with the contractors and builders to secure employment directly, from proprietors. To some extent they did so, but with them the system, of tendering on their oWn account' has for some time been decreasing, and the majority of the -men are- now' working -for employers, and are paid either by the piece or by the day 5 "mostly, however, by the latter, method. Partly, perhaps, this is due to the circumstance that bricklayers, have not the general knowledge" of the -building trade that the carpenters and masons have, their work not mixing - them *up_ so much with it» However this may" be, there is little doubt that they are better off jogging on with employers than those classes which have endeavored more to do for themselves. Work* is tolerably brisk swith them, and there are few who are* not earning 10s. per day. Some arc not obtaining more than 9s t , but these are the minority* The trade seems to be fettered by no regulation, and the good wages are maintained by the bona fide demand for the labor. There are few instances'to be met with of the men working at jobs for themselves at prices which will give them below the current rates, and these few are probably more the result of miscalculation than of an effort to obtain employment by accepting wages below the staudard. At the same time it must be remarked that there are many bricklayers not following their trade, and that the number in it has always been found amp'e, and sometimes more than sufficient, for its requirements. Their woir-k-f whether at repairs or at buildings,* is soon got through — no one job lasts long, so that it has frequently happened during the last few years that as many a» 30. 0r 40 per cent, of the men have heen out of employment at f nee. These , depresssions are [incidental tb'tlie trade, ard of temporary durationy. and even with the anomalous state of things alluded to in a former papei—a demand existing for good house property, and a few new investments taking place in it -^the bricklayers appear to have little to complain of. The plastering trade is at present very much overdone, and has been so for some time past. There are now about3oO plas-* terers following their occupation in" and about Melbourne, and there is not work for anything thing like that number. The consequence of this is, that thoughthe nominal wages are *as high as in Other trades-^9s to 10s per day-^aiany of the men are not earning these rates. The competition for employment is so keen that the builders find it advantage-" ous to let the labour at their works, finding the material themselves ; for though the men did not except less than current wages from a master* th y will work in this manner, on their own account, at. a considerable reduction. The system of sub-contracting, and sub* letting, is pushed to a greater extent in the plastering than in any other trade. Any one of the -artizans may be a journeyman to-day and master tomorrow. There are few firms left, to whom a man out of work: can apply for employment. A plasterer here has to depend for work upon liis own smartness in looking. about him, and very often he spends a week in finding another seven dayVijoo.; This competition leads to piece-work being taken at very low rates; so low, that in many cases the men Cannot afford to do justice either to the job or to themselves, but adopt a slapdash mode of execution, which ultimately falls heavily upon the proprietor* In a number of instances the wofrk cannot be properly performed under the existing system. " Scaffolders/' as they are termed — the men who do the rough plastering Work — may get on tolerably well, but for the preparation of internal ornaments, shop, accommodation is required, and this not being in existence the word has to be badly executed in the building. There are firms who employ artiaans at good, wages by the day, and have theirjjjfork done carefully and well, but the action ofthe men in readily taking apiece-work afc less rates than they will work for an employer unsettles trade. The fault of the irregularity of ..employment in this trade, and its disorganization, seems to rest with the men themselves. w .B.ut these evils are perhaps the natural .result of the overcrowding of this* particular division of the labor market. When^the Houses of Parliament-anJ several of our large public buildings were being simultaneously proceeded with, plastering gave employment to a. .large -number of hands, and the men. who then worked at their trade have been **unwilling to give it up ,and seek new openings "for their industry. A proportion 'of them, however, have done this, for there appears to be not less than 500 plasterers in and about the. city. .' There is as much plastering work in the houses here as in similar classes of erections in the mother .country, but it would require a great improvement in the building trade to give full employment to all of the artizans of the class under notice who are, striving to live by their skilled labor. * The plasterers at one time established a trade's society, and strived to secure the adoption of regulation's forbidding sub- contracting, &c. ; but the society broke up, and fbr the last three years the trade has been free and open to all.