LABOR IN CONFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 180, 21 July 1908, Page 2

LABOR IN CONFERENCE

THE ARBITRATION ACT. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Monday. Tho annual conference of New Zealand Trades and Labor Councils opened to-day. In the annual report the opinion was expressed by tho executive tluit every financial member of the Union should be entitled to exercise his or her vote for the election of both Arbitration Court and Conciliation Board representatives. Practically a plebiscite of members was needed to ensure a representative being elected on a democratic basis.

Regarding the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, tho report stated* that the executive wus. convinced tliat the workers of the Dominion would strictly adhere to the provisions of tho Act providing the Legislature would amend it in the direction of making it an Act to encourage the formation of industrial unions, the granting of un# conditional statutory preference to unionists, the removal of tho vexatious delays caused by tho Court not dealing I with matters referred to it until

months have elapsed, and the amending of the Act eo «n to provide for a minif ltunn general wage. The opinion is also expressed that had the given the Conciliation Hoards more power there would have been no need for the suggested abolition of tho Boards; also that the time has arrived when the workers should use every endeavor to prevent lawyers from appearing before the Court. Mr. Thorn, Canterbury, was elected president of the Conference.

THE ARBITRATION' ACT CRITICISED Wellington, Last Night. The Arbitration Act and Judge Sim came in for some severe criticism at to-day's sitting of the Trades and Labor Conference. The discussion arose on a motion by 10. J. Carey (Wellington) to add the following clause to the Executive's report:—"During the pasr year the Denniston miners, the Auckland tramway men, the Wellington bakers, aiul one or two other smaller organisations have found it necessary to supplement the appeals to and subsequent awards of the Court by a further reliance on their industrial combinations to secure more equitable industrial conditions than were granted by the Court. We are pleased to note- that all these •after-efforts have been or are likely to prove successful. The after-efforts have all had the backing up of public opinion, and were all rendered necessary by the vicious policy of victimisation followed by some of the employers or by the palpably unjust terms of-the awards or by the substitution of Arbitration Court law for statute law. We desire to place 011 record our recognition of the generous response of the Dominion unionists to the appeal of the Blackball miners for financial assistance, and hope that a similar response will be made to the appeal by the Trades Council on behalf of tho Wellington bakers. We consider the contribution to Blackball as a Iplendid manifestation of the fact that there is still a good deal of the old spirit of unionism latent in the ranks of the New Zealand trades unions."

In moving this clause, Mr. Carey said that reference should lie made to the recent trouble with the operative bakers that had arisen in Wellington. -The Court had brought it on, and the men had nothing left them but to take up the attitude they had assumed. Mr. W. 11. Westbrooke said that the Factory Act had given the men a 48hours week; the Arbitration Court had awarded 51 hours. New Zealand had always been looked upon as a 48-hours country, and it was not right that the extra three hours should be tacked on. The men had been loyal to the award in the past, and altogether they had apl>caled three times. They had fdund there was no hope of getting better or just conditions. Mr. P. H. Hickey (Blackball) made an attacked on the judgment of the Aribtra. tion Court in reference to the Blackball strike. The workers should be protected, he said, but they were not. If they were not protected by statute law they should have the liberty to protect themselves with their fellow-workers. According to Judge Sim, the workers had no protection whatever. They could see tho absolute futility of the Arbitration Court when it came to the question of the workers wanting their rights. It was time the workers took a definite stand in regard to the Act. He had no respect for an Act that did not give him protection, and the same thing would apply to the rest of the workers. The Act only allowed the employers to suit their own purposes. It meant victimisation of the men. One of the present delegates had been told by Mb employer that his place would be filled by the time he was ready to return to work. This was a nice position to be in when the Government encouraged these conferences and gave free passes on the railways to delegates to attend them. "I think it is high, time," he concluded, "that we as workers took some definite action to protect ourselves. Are we to be made buffers of by the employers at their owil sweet will!" The debate will be resumed in the morning.