Trades and the Workers

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 850, 19 December 1929, Page 6

Trades and the Workers

BV

“ARBITER.”

Tactics Of The Men Things are bad in New South Wales, ■where life has been lost and much blood shed through the industrial trouble on the coalfields. The men, by refusing to accept the terms imposed by their own leaders in the negotiations with the pit owners, invited trouble. They appointed the leaders, and then did not stick by them. Later, in the face of almost certain defeat, their pig-headedness got them further into the mire. It is a platitude to say that as soon as hunger enters the stomach, discretion leaves the brain. It was inevitable right from the start that if the coal Industry was to be saved, a reduction In wages had to be accepted, and, as The Sun pointed out editorially this week allowing for the reduction, the miners of NS W. will be the highest paid in the world on this class of ■work. . . . The miners, by their insistent rioggedness against what is certain defeat, have Injured themselves. For some time past many shipowners have • eased to be bothered with perpetual Industrial trouble and have been getting their coal from other parts of tb(< world, thus reducing the coal output. of the Commonwealth by an untold 1 "Nobody in their senses would support. tlie present tactics of the hieh ih i he<e circumstances. Those unionists in Vuckland who recently contributed to the support of the N.S.W. miners on the occasion of a recent appeal, might like time to think this out. Girls Seek Work The alarming amount of unemployment prevalent among young girls and - oung women in Christchurch between Ihe ages of 16 and 23 years who have hud no special training or experience was strikingly illustrated on a. recent ■morning when over 250 applications wore received by Christchurch Cinemas for 12 positions as ushers for the new Majestic Theatre. From as early as 8.30 a.m. the voung women began to assemble at the Grand Theatre, and they continued to arrive until 11 a.m. There were blondes and brunettes, tall girls, short girls—girls of every possible type. According to a Southern paper, this astonishing amount of unemployment is not found in other branches of women's work, although the position in 'he tailoring and dressmaking tiade is not particularly bright. ■ The trouble is,” said Mr. F. R. Cooke, secretary to the Tailoring Trades’ Union, “the girls never say much. During periods of general unemployment girls have to support the homes, but they very seldom complain When they are out of employment, they endeavour to find work on their own.” * * • Leaders Denounced Some home-truths were imparted to the miners at Newcastle recently by •me of their own unionist organisers, Mr. H. Sutherland, who severely condemned the leaders of the miners, alleging that they were guilty of the “grossest misrepresentation.” "When one fails in life it is usual to find an excuse,” said Mr. Sutherland. “It Is never the fault of the man who fails, blame someone else. Few men are big enough to admit defeat and make plain honest state-

ments of the real cause, which is always that your opponent or the circumstances have been stronger than yourself. Right from the beginning the miners* leaders have been impossible. “Defeat was written the day we laid down the policy on which this dispute has been determined. At times certain material conditions make negotiations easy. Last July those conditions existed. We faced the inevitable for another five months, and the terms for a settlement were easily three times harder to swallow than the terms that could have been secured in July. As time goes ou each set of terms will be harsher and more humiliating. If you follow the advice of the well-fed and fight on, you not only lose the wage, but you lose your organisation as well. “Let me tell you men the truth; you are defeated. You may not be down and out. As a matter of fact we still have sufficient resistance to negotiate as a social unit, but my advice is, if the rest of your world desires to go insane, you are not bound to follow. It is our duty to recognise the inevitable, and when we recognise it, have the courage to accept.” Relief Workers A spirited outburst—not the first by any means—against the conditions under which relief workers are compelled to exist, has been made from Wellington by Mr. A. Cook, general secretary of the New Zealand Workers’ Union. These conditions, he says, are speedily becoming worse instead of better, mainly through the lack of proper organisation in the districts to which the men are sent. It apparently has occurred to the Government that as soon as they get the men clear of the unemployment bureau in the city they have discharged their responsibility, and the remaining onus for a successful and comfortable career is on the men themselves. No greater mistake was ever made, for the men are becoming heartily fed up with relief conditions, and it is only a question of time when something in the way of improvement simply must be effected if satisfaction is to be obtained. Mr. Cook strongly advises all men to refuse relief work until such time as they are guaranteed fair wages and conditions. But, Mr. Cook, be careful what you say. Bulldog impetuosity never did accomplish anything. Strong action should be taken, but for the organiser of one of the largest workers institutions in the cduntry to advise everyone to refuse relief works, seems « little bit. over the odds, to say the least. How about an organised protest to the Government with specific illustrations? Go to the top of the political tree with sufficient force to carry your demands. Men who simply refuse to work because conditions are bad might receive the reply of the State: “Well; the responsibility is upon you.” Labour is in a delicate position today, both industrially and politically, and forceful tactics may be adopted without resort to self injury. After all, the men have to live. These facts notwithstanding, something must be done and done soon to relieve the: conditions under which these men have to work. Only the most representative negotiation from the whole o£ the workers will accomplish anythin tangible.