Trades and the Workers

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 564, 17 January 1929, Page 6

Trades and the Workers

* By

“ARBITER”

Under Soviet Conditions The increase in industrial accidents has become alarming. A publication | issued by the International Labour Of- } rice reveals that in building operations I in Moscow (town and department) the j number of accidents per 1,000 workers I grew from 3.2 per cent, in 1925 to 25.2 i per cent, in 1926. and 32.3 per cent, in j 1927. In the mining industry the num- ■ her of accidents per 1,000 workers was 113 iu 1924 131 in 1925, 180 in 1926, and about 222 in 1927. The explanation of the causes of accidents which attributes them to the carelessness of the workers is often too • usy, and in many cases entirely in•cc urate. Carelessness on the part of ilie worker is certainly common, but it is desirable to learn precisely why the worker is sometimes careless. It must not be forgotten that during the last two years certain measure of rationalisation have been carried out here and there, which certainly diminished the number of accidents. The fact that accidents are still so numerous shows, however, that the protection of the workers is still extremely inadeWorks Councils Interest is reviving in Germany in the Work Council experiment—one of the try-outs in industrial reconstruction. The idea of the council was that employees in receipt of wages or salaries “are called upon, with equal rights with employers, to co-operate in the regulation of wages and working conditions as well as in the general .-tonomic development of the forces ol production. The vagueness of the clause left the powers of the council very much to chance; it could be a purely proforma body, or the real controlling power in the concern wherein it functioned, or anything between these two. When it came to translating the clause into legislation, the times were all in favour _of the former, and the Acts establishing the councils make them little more than the medium between the employer and the employees in matters affecting the general well-being of the establishment. Their importance' depends in the main on circumstances beyond i heir control, and the readjustment period was so unfavourable to their development that the workers, to some of whom they had once seemed a basis for a Soviet State, largely lost interest in them. Interest, however, is beginning to revive, and, although in some places they exist only in name, in others they play an increasingly important part. Miners Will Turn The coal operators in Chicago are warned by the “Tribune” there that the men will turn upon them if they do not display more consideration for the working conditions. “A general lowering of wages in an industry is demoralising,” it says. "Miners are not accustomed to high wages as we know them in the wellorganised skilled trades. Any reduction will mean serious deprivation to workmen and their families. The lowering of income can result only in less schooling for the children, a meaner diet, more crowded homes, poorer clothing, fewer recreations and a lessened ability to meet misfortunes that, must be expected in every family. A reduction in the standard of living of their employees will tend to make tlieir workmen sullen. “The Miners* Union grew strong on the arrogance of mine operators who strove to force low wages upon the industry. That history will be repeated unless the operators show greater wisdom this time.”^ In State’s Charge The Ohio workmen’s compensation system is the largest casualty insurance business in the world, according to reports. The State Compensation Act outlaws ambulance chasers and private insurance companies. No one can profiteer on the injury and death of a wage worker. The State treasurer is custodian of The workmen's compensation fund, which totalled 52,877,450.74 dollars on December 31 last. The fund is ad-

ministered by the Ohio Industrial Commission, composed of three members. Employers are compelled to insure j in the State fund, unless they elect to j carry their own insurance. In that j event they must deposit with State officials sufficient Ohio State, county J or municipal bonds to guarantee compensation benefits to employees. These employers are under the same rules ; as if they were insured in the State j fund. Speeding Up Causes Accidents Accidents in industry in New York increased 30 per cent, in the last 10 years, although standardised accident prevention methods applicable to every industry have been made available. Leading accident causes are increased production, speed, complicated machinery and the indifference of many employers to safety problems. The New York State Department of Labour recorded 346,000 accidents during the fiscal year 1922-23. In 1926-27 the number reported was 518,000, nearly a 50 per cent, increase. In 1923 compensation was granted, to 76,216 workers in New York State; in 1926, 99,673. In 1927 this number was reduced to 98,984. Handling of objects and falls brought the largest casualty toll. Workers Get T.B. Pulmonary tuberculosis still remains the chief cause of death among office workers before the age of 45 years in New York, according to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Heart disease is second in causes of deaths. Poor ventilation, poor illumination and bad seating, together with bad habits and fashions and lack of proper exercise is responsible for the generally poor posture of office workers. Most of these conditions can be remedied, it is stated. ‘The fact that the number of clerical workers in this country is approximately 3,700,000, or nearly one-half the number of industrial wage-earners, is sufficient reason for consideration of health conditions among them, since the health problem of such a large body of workers is of great importance both in its relation to public health and to the successful operation of commerce and industry.” Ideas* Without Sense “Accident hazards in coal mines have been ‘measurably increased’ by the increased use of machienry,” says the United States Bureau of Mines. This Federal unit has made an exhaustive study of the question and shows that devices that should be an aid to labour have proven a destroyer of life and limb. One of the most alarming developments is laxity in connection with ventilation. This permits the accumulation of gases and results in explosions. “There is absolutely no justification for attempting to utilise these new ideas without the taking of commonsense precautions looking to the safety of mines and miners,” says the bureau. Cog In The Machine The conditions of work ?n Australia and America were compared in a recent publication, which had the following to say upon the position in the United States: “The Tmerican worker gets no pay for public holidays, and only in a few exceptional cases is any provision made for vacations. In most industries there is no extra pay for overtime, night work, or work on public holidays. The workers welcome overtime. They prefer night Shifts, because on night shifts they are allowed to work for longer hours —they want the money. "From the moment he enters the factory until he stops work for the day, the worker in the mass production industry is part of a machine. The character and the speed of his actions do not vary. His pace is set by the pace of the machine, which is itself set by the management. If the worker cannot keep up to the pace of the machine, he cannot produce tlie output for the minimum piecework rate. If he cannot earn the minimum rate he is considered inefficient, and is dismissed.