WORK AND WAGES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 36, 18 June 1913, Page 6

WORK AND WAGES.

COMPULSORY ' ARBITRATION

[■By Electric Telegraph—Copyright] [United Press. Association.l Sydney, June 17.

At the annual meeing of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, Sir E. Braddon, the president, in his opening speech, said that the chief reason of the gold shortage was probably adverse Australian trade. The balance of importing was more than ,they could pay for with their exports. The wave of latter-day personal extravagance had unduly stimulated imports Regarding labor unrest, the employers as a rule had no objection to collective bargaining with labor unions, so long as the bargain was honorably observed, but it was notorious that the men in many cases had lately not respected a bargain a moment longer than it suited them. Compulsory arbitration had hopelessly broken down. It was found in practice that the larger unions cannot be coerced into working, even by their own leaders, if they decided otherwise. One of the worst features in evidence latterly was the deliberately reduced effort of the workers at a time when they were constantly | claiming shorter hours and larger pay.