STRIKES AND ARBITRATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 220, 10 September 1908, Page 2

STRIKES AND ARBITRATION.

A-N l.UJii(iiS>j.il.\u DISCUSSION*. .By leleyrapn.— i'l-ess Association. Wellington, Lusl .Mjjlit. At mo Arbitration Court 10-uay, .Ur. l!eaido,i, »ecioui'y oi tllv l.ai,wrers' I moil, touk exception to a new departure by luc Unn l in stipulating that if a Strike oil-ills, ail pa rues me releascil from an award, lie contended it Han iimair lo worKeis, aim ijnuiuil instances ol small alleyed strikes at Uangauui ana in Wellington, or wliieh tiie t niun had no knowledge, yet it would have to ailed tue wuole or the laborers under the award. Judge Sim askvd if Hie laborers' Union were not alliliateit to llie Weiliiig'Lou 1 rades and Labor Council, willeli had upheld the bakers' strike. , Mr. Keardon said it was, and that it appeared necessary to help strikers at tiie time liley endeavored to briny the strike lo an eu.l, and were tleieaica. His Honor: \\ iiy did not tile Trades and Labor Conned pass a resolution disapproving uf Hie strike instead of v' pproving of it; Your leaders want to have arbitration and strikes too. if you ean'l get a. thing by arurtration vim xivil... 'l'll,,i 11 :

you strike, iliat is simply the position at present. Your Union may not j be directly responsible for one small strike, but indirectly they are responsible by the action of the union leaders iu approving of strikes. They „ in »ear , to approve of strikes if any workers go out on strike, instead of observing the , law, they break it. .Mr. Keardon: We claim to withhold our labor if we think lit. That lias , been recognised in British law since e 1823 ' s His Honor: And you must do it in ,] concert order, to get by coercion (1 something you cannot get by arbitra- ,, tion, d At the same sitting, Mr. Pryor, seen l'etary of tiie Employers' Association, a applied for tire exemption of public I. bodies employing general laborers fromindustrial awards. He urged that they were really Government bodies, and 1 r, had no business in the ordinary sense ii of the world, and moreover were int>. Uuenced by elections in a ivay that preg judiced ordinary employers and led r. tlieiu to grant ridiculous rates. On the other hand, they sometimes, in pet- riods of distress, found temporary work ■jl /for unemployed, and they could not do this if bound by an award. ■h -Judge Sim said lie could not decide such a question off-hand; any change t- would require careful consideration. In ill the meantime, local bodies would have ie to be parties to the laborers' award.

THE SHEARERS' AWARD. Christehurcli, Last Night. The award in the shearers' dispute was received from the Arbitration Court to-day. The award states that, subject lo the provisions of the award, an employer shall have full control of his shearing operations. The number of sheep to lie shorn shall be agreed upon approximately between the employer. or his agent and the shearers before the commencement of the shearing; hours of shearing to be from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., or 5.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., with intervals for meals- and anything as may be agreed upon; the rate of pay to be 18s per 100 with rations, and an additional 3s 4d without rations. No shearer is bound to shear any caneered sheep, and no shearer , shall enter a catching pen after the bell rings. All sheep are to be taken carefully from the catching pen, and no shearer is to be compelled to shear sheep he has reasonable ground to consider vet; the union to do all in its ! power to prevent any strike, and if [ any strike shall occur in which any , member of the union shall take part, I such strike shall be prima facie evidence that the union has committed a I breach of its duty. In the event of a | strike, the operation* of all clauses h the award is to be suspended, and until [ a further order of the Court. The hours of work, wages and other cowlitions of work for all workers coming ! .within the scope of the award shall be fixed by agreement, between each employer and the individual. The award " is to remain in force from September - 14th, 1008, to March 31st, 1910.