“Mussolini Legislation”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 185, 26 October 1927, Page 9

“Mussolini Legislation”

ARBITRATION AMENDMENTS Organised Labour’s Hostility NOT one of the proposed amendments to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act finds any favour with the committee set up by the District Council of the Alliance of Labour to present a report to the public meeting of protest to-night.

i ’£ , HE report states that the amend-

ment is simply a piece of Mussolini legislation designed to rob tlje unionist workers of any status or safeguards, and its provisions, if carried into effect, will undo the work of the unions of the last 30 years in New Zealand.

“Stripped of its pretence of making the court more representative,” the report proceeds, “the proposed legislation is designed to isolate the workers both geographically and industrially, to make it difficult to obtain an award, and, in the last instance, to give autocratic power to the commissioner and judge to appoint or reject arbitrators or assessors.

“It opens the way for the court to become merely the instrument by which the employers can reduce wages

by means of speeding up, and the juggling of their balance-sheets as well as making the workers bear the burden for cut-throat competition, overcapitalisation or managerial inefficiency.

“If pased into law, we can see no alternative to the workers refusing to register under the Act at all, and as a last resort, falling back upon direct action of the strike, boycott and sabotage, as history has proved that trade combinations cannot be stamped out, even under conspiracy acts.”

Referring to the clause which states that in forming an award, “The court shall take into account the economic and financial conditions affecting the industry to which the award relates, trade and industry generally in New Zealand, and all other relevant considerations,” the report declares that in spite of its apparently reasonable provisions this also means that any industry that is over-capitalised, has watered stock, or is inefficiently managed, or has too much competition between .members, can plead its low rates o'l' profit to cut workers’ wages.” PIECE WORK CLAUSE COMMUNITY NOT READY WOULD END IN SWEATING “TLJiGH earnings by capital are put down to high efficiency, but high earnings by pieceworkers are ascribed to too high a rate of remuneration. The community is ; not ready for piecework,” said Mr. ; W. E. Sill, secretary of the Siaugh- ! termen’s Union, to-day. He was speaking from a long experience of payment by results in the several classes of pieceworkers in the freezing industry. There the rates had not gone up in relation to time wages since 1914. His experience had been that the moment a pieceworker g'Ot above a fair average wage the employer sought to reduce the rate. They quoted high earnings, but what

did it matter how much a man earned so long as he earned it?

Apparently the Government ex- u eluded dairy factory workers because they could not organise and tight. The v assertion seemed to be that as the 1 dairy farmers had to compete on world *= markets, he should not be subject to the Act. But beef and mutton was in . r the same position. Why not exclude ' freezing workers? Apparently it was > because the slaughtermen could en- 1 force collective bargaining without the * Arbitration Act. Remarks attributed to Mr. G. C. c Stove yesterday with regard to piece- \ work were really an opinion expressed j by Mr. T. Bloodworth. 1 t END OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING < i The piecework clause in the amendments heralded the end of collective < bargaining. It permitted agreements l for piecework between an employer 1 and individual employees, and that was « not organised piecework, but indi- < vidual piecework, and would set each ; individual worker against each other worker. It would reintroduce sweat- ] ing in its most vicious form. Even though the amendment stipulated that . the wage should not fall below the equivalent of time rates, it would be * found that the award rate would be ; based on the piece rate, and not the , piece rate on the time rate. The committee set up by the Auckland District Council of the Alliance of labour, in its report, says that the \ clause kills all the value of awards or unionism by making it possible “that any employer may agree with his employees or any of them for pay- , m ent by piecework or otherwise, according to the volume of work done. EMPLOYERS ALSO OPPOSITION TO CHANGES ! "IRRESPONSIBLE ARBITRATORS” | (From Our Resident Reporter.) j WELLINGTON, Tuesday, j Opposition to the proposed alteration in the constitution of the Arbitration Act is shown by the Advisory Board of the New Zealand Employers Federation. _ , In an interview Mr. T. O. Bishop, secretary of the federation, said there had not been sufficient opportunity tor the federation thoroughly to consider the whole Bill, but the Advisory Board was unanimously and strongly opposed to the proposed alterations to the constitution of the court. The proposals are opposed on four grounds—lack of suitable arbitrators, lack of provision for continuity of policy, danger from irresponsible arbitrators and the impossibility of the court doing its work in the time available. . ._ “Experience of conciliation councils and disputes committees has shown that it is exceedingly difficult to obtain successful arbitrators,” said Mr. Bishop. “The qualities which go to make a successful arbitrator are many, and are rarely found in business men..” “ACT OF WAR” OTAGO UNIONS’ VIEWS INDUSTRIAL STRIFE EXPECTED Press Association. DUNEDIN, To-day. At a largely attended meeting of delegates representative of all unions throughout Otago the following resolution was carried unanimously: “That this combined meeting of executive officers of Otago unions enters a united protest against the action of the Government in its determination to amend the Arbitration Act, and views the Government’s action as an attack inspired by the employing class on the standard of living of the working class. “This meeting also warns the Government that its action is tantamount to an act of war on the welfare of in- ' dustrious citizens and, if persisted in, * is destined to result in industrial strife, 5 which will not only cause loss and suf--5 fering to the whole community, but 1 will impair the efficiency of the Doc minion as a competitor in the markets 5 of the world.” The meeting appointed a delegate to t the Labour conference in Wellington.