ARBITRATION COURT AWARDS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8090, 21 April 1906, Page 4

ARBITRATION COURT AWARDS

DISSATISFACTION OF THE UNIONISTS. TALK. 01' CANCELLING EEGISTHATION. VIEWS OF THADE UNION LEAiDEItS. f.\c»- Zealand Herald.") Tliu disposition ol the liuue unions to conu> to terms with the employers in cunnocuon with several oi uie uisputus set down lor Hearing at the resent Baling oi the Aruitratiou Court, nisieuu' m uguuug tneni to u nnsn, lias oeeu vieweu Willi much lavuur in commercial ana oiuer circles, Out it now truiispuvs mat tnero a more Oohiuu the unions action than hrst appeared. Tlie aspect presented now is tar trom being tavuuriiOle. ilio unions reason lor coming to terms recently, it appears, »as not because tuey wanted to conciliate the employers, out because tliey beueveu, tliey count get more concessions from the employers than from the Arbitration e-ourt. Iho trades union leaders are moio than disappointed with rcceiK awards, and threaten that tuey win cancel registration, ami resort to what tliey describe as " the good old niethed ot striking" for what they want. ■• Murmurs are arisiug Irom oue section of the community, as the result of a recent award," said one of the labour leaders when interviewed, " winch presage a storm that wiil make those ii. authority realise that the working classes will not be trod upon too much." Hit unions also complain bitterly of the loug delays in hearing the dispute, which delays, they say, prejudice their interests to a large extent.

Jilt. AItTHMt lIOSSEK'S VIEWS. Mr Arthur ltosser, the well-known labour loader, when asked to explain the reason for the making of the recent agreement, said:—" The real position is this: We have noticed by the recent decisions of tho Court that they have practically, by a majority, (it any rate, arrived at the conclusion that there shall bo no increases in wages. This forces us to meet the employers on the give-and-take principle, and wo are satisfied ivo can get more out of the employers uy showing a disposition to conciliate than if we took the case before the Court." " So thert is really no wave of conciliation sweeping over the northern industrial district!" queried onr representative. " Quite so," assented Mr Eossor. •' Wo only find that vq can get better results by conferring with the employers than we can hope to get from the Arbitration Court."

CAUSES FOR COMPLAINT. " Is tlicro any feeling of revulsion on the part of unionists towards the Arbitration Court? " " Ves, in some cases there is. For instance, take the plumbers' award, delivered about May last. No increase ivas given to the plumbers, notwithstanding the- fact that evidence was brought forward to show that the old ' happy-go-lucky' days had passed away, and that each man was now required to hold a license from the different local bodies, as to his efficiency in water and sanitary work. They asked for Is (id per hour, an immediate increase of 4d on what they were receiving. They were advised to go for a medium increase, 'but they did not do so, hoping that tho Court would fix something betwixt the two rates. In this, however, they were disappointed, for the Court did not give them lnji, or even Is 3d, per hour, but the same old Is 2d. The bulk of the witnesses brought forward by tho union wore already getting Is Jd, as stated in their sworn evidence, and now run the risk of being reduced to the minimum, which is generally the maximum in most trades. Then there is the carpenters' award, under which the men in Auckland receive less than in any of the other centres. Time and again evidence has been brought forward to show that carpenters in Auckland are eutitled to receive the same as carpenters in the South, but without success. Each time we get the same rate, Is 3d."