The Daily News. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10. MUCH ARBITRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81884, 10 November 1906, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10. MUCH ARBITRATION.

JfijUK Chapman is pi'iman I ■■iitly unlit yed as pi's den. of Me Aibitialion Couit. Tiial lie is I'uliy employed i= ev dencd by the tact mat he is at tin,- liiomeo. cngi.g-d in cEai.ng w.ih 140 brtache o| aw..id in ore i-cn.re. Toe iact 1 till the award■; ate bteken 's in ividence of 3 veral tangs. One ' 1 the ill ngs is thai ma-tcrs 01 men .oay be ignorant of the law. Anotlte; is thai the ma.-.teis may be fitly o-gnia.-nt of the law and w.llu, bi.al.c, - ef it. And a.lo.her is tita. employees may because of scarcity of work ui iiiabii iv to peifonn the highest class if w.itk be content to take wotk at a le-s rate of pay than die law lays down. In ex timely few cases do 1 tnployees complain of the wages they gei. Ii if tin; unVn ofiiciaE who, having to do something to just'fy their existence, ft mem the disturbance.

It is not niliicient thai a man is satisfied w th the rcmunetation he is gelting. The po.nt i-. 'Are the Un.on oftieials satisfied whli the wages another man i- gettngr" Of the one bundled and forty cases of breach beingjicard by tin Ai bin alien Court some are tho-e d'-a ing with 1 lit; infamous '-p.eferince to unioni-.5." A hrin of carr ers in one cae were fined live pounds. The crime? Employing a man who was a non-unionist n,leu thue were men within a sixmi 0 radius who wete Un unists. The ■aw says that to employ a non-union-ist is wtong. Therefore in fining that firm, justice, as far a- the Judge i- collect 111 d, has been dune. The report of the ease dees not say that the non-unnnis, was perhaps a better man than any available unionist, lie may have been.

THE Arbitration Act and this infamous clause in some of the awards ot that law. presume that mo ability of any woiker is to be judged, not on his performance of his work, but on the possession of a union ticket. It is, as is shown, a breach of the law to aold out a he p'ng hand with the ori«r of work to a man who may not be in a po-iiion to bt-come a unionist. It is a breach of this ridiculous cause to g.ve the father of a poor fam'ly who is not a unionist, a job. while .here is a well-iu-do uniont-t amund. ft d-m not inai.er w.u-Uier the well-to-do unionist ,s 10 be four.d. It does 1,01 matter .hai an employer may nave .0 s.op Ins work- becau-e of his inability to obtain ticketed abor. lie iiiusi'obey toe ir-aocis ot the unions. Ihc A'.boraion Court must enrolce tne -aw. Too man al-o who dares ~0 iakc a billet at a les- puce than the ,aw lays down is pum.-bed in lines lor Ills crime. U does not matter to tne s.tv ours uf the "lioiny-oaoded mat the man has been imccd to take il'pa ci woik. lie has biok-n tne aw and he is fined. In tne beautiful vernacular, he is a ''crawler. ::

New Zealand believes that she is pushing to me forefiont of the nation. The Piemier at tne Lxiubit > n quoted many figures s.iowing the piospcr.ty of the piople and their happmes-. There is a serpent in out l-.den 111 these bleaches of awaids, 1 h.s constant bickering, this pretence oiat every man now ever hi- capacuy may vaiy from tiiat of anothci, is to tccetVc the same reniuneialion lor h.s work. In the spcciiic case we have mentioned in which a non-union 'Stearic r was mipl'iyed and w.io-c employer was fined live pounds lor emp tying h 111, the bung ng of the ease meant among other dungs—and putsuing me vernacular—Lie "sack. The man's „in was not that he was not a good hutsc driver. Merely ihat he «as not a unionist. liy the action of the Aibitration Court that man ,« piohibud 110111 using h= skill as a hoi-e-drivu until he becomes a unionist. Tliis of comse is coercion pure and simple.

IT -ay- dcfin ; tely to the man : "We older you to jo 11 a union or -knock oti w.tnout joining a union, your employer will be lined heavily. We therelore jjotcc you to pay a sum of money you may not be able to afford 111 oilier ,0 join an organ -at ion you may not be in sympathy w ill—ol starve. If you don't want to starve do something else, preferably become secretary of a union. \""ii won't have to take vcur coat off then. Also your salary must be found by the unionists who don't wani any one el-e only union.s.s 10 he. If the unioni-ts don't pay. fire them out of the un.on. By lhis means you have your revenge and pievont them from getting a job.'-'

A WAVE of depression would sweep ihe Aib'.iration Act off the Statute book. There arc points about the Act that an' good in essence and principle. There art" points titat are bad beyond cxptcs-ion, points that are do ng enormia damage to New Zealand and which arc potent for siil" gieatcr damage. It is right and proper that every man should get the worth of his labour. It is essential to the comfoit and well-being of the workers that they should unite for their own protection, just as empoycis un ;e. But the point- that make it d.ilicult to perm t boys to learn tiade-, toe point: that disaliow any cla-s.ftcat on of workers, assuming that all of one specific trade are equal in executive power if duly tickeited, are dctr.menial to success and could not be endured except in a eountiy wluie the p. pu alien .< a mere cipher . in lelation to the s.zc of the eountiy.

111 1 has been shown by labour agitaicis that the very e-sence of arbitra- [ tion is the preference to unionise en- , actmuit and th s .s the very worst {point of a.l. It is sheer coercion on th; part of men who in many caso-f'.-j nothing lor their living but agitate and wiio in many cases would not b.i competent 10 cam iuling wages under any other sys.em than the aibiuauon systan of lab >ur-Uouble adjustment. Ln.on.sts have set out. that w.thoui this clause there might as well be no Arbitration Court.. You see lik- unionist agitator lears skilled competition. The Lcket swears that a unionist is a competent man. The ticket may be lis only c ami io competentt. Un the other hand, a lion un'onist may depend on his ik.ll of hand a un • lo give h m a place in the world. Why should lie be denied thai p ace bocau-e the otTici I tcdow savs su:

It U aliegui tiiai the AibUaiion Cain has .io.de -,, ke- „np,i.. i„ic. I hi- U ilie gle.i hi ab-uid l\ tnal •■> ta kid. At any ion- wh 11 liieic 1a cic oi tiijiie.-.siuii, the nun wh , I held t.ie e.ip.ial of the country may (I . wh.ii they like .u ill'- "ay of giving I'liijiliynii ot ot in pay iig wages. l"llh-e, (1.,. ~.,1,k-e'- !h.1,1-e v ..v call ia.se capita! a> well a, l.ihmir the, ate in such a cue a-- hi p'c-s as if time never had li'i'n any Arbiii alien (.'"int. lln.ll lies of an aw aid in iiin"- of -lie-n would no! "ccur. if lhe.e was no work. No Aibnation emu 1 1 .m compel .111 employer to run h s business i[ |,o <.-,rc.- .0 doe it (!•",mi. Wirn an mlu-tiv is t mnl dow.i. the industry and hi, owner (i'.-n t ca.e v.hi lie r a nun i- a unieiii-| "i a nun- n'-l, and the limll wa-i :.- !o k.s-i out do -n 1 cue about

>',; iv .i.l;. Al. lie. s -.., obvious ill,n tin- hcio-nc-- : I lie- union b .'s ill pichib'tun; an;, one out-id" lie- palll'.lll i.llll ill; a C.U- 1 when llll'l'r aie , i. 1 for /I. is iii'xpKriblo. lii.-union-ll'.n-ll,.'nil lull '".■«--- - eileni"ci,d. .a. I,v v...1!..-!. 1.i.l !>v ill,- •'•'workei-." nf .1 ■ v...i1:.-r. Tii.- averac,,i,i.,„ e- n!i! I, .-..,> ,ni in ~.„,, „.„ iiv-l,Hli-l. II- v.-im'i I),- ,„,,„•„( t" ll:, . h1,"1'1,:.- : in HI i-, pi'll hi.', ~l licin p-lin;: 111' ~„•.- '-■ ■',-,-n- ,„rl ,!.,• 1,,'!,-,; 11-.im.il 11 l-..1, i lb,. |ii,.l!cl |, oS,'!„lir of 111,- -.1111- V.a.ojCS ;is tin: lx-l V-Oik'-V w'.ln cm I,l' o it.