PREPOSTEROUS DEMANDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 214, 10 March 1914, Page 3

PREPOSTEROUS DEMANDS.

IRON INDUSTRY IMPERILLED. A PLEA FOR PROTECTION'. By Telegraph-—Press Association. - Wellington, Yesterday. Before the Arbitration Court to-day, t/hc recently-formed Wellington Mctiii Workers' Assistants' Industrial Union of f Workers applied for an industrial award, ' this being the first application of -its I kind in the trade. The men in their demands stipulated for a 44 'hours' week, payment of overtime at the rate of time and a quarter for the firßt two hours, time and a-half thereafter up to 10 p.m., and double time between 10 p.m. and ordinary time for commencing work next morning; double rates for work done on Sundays, and six holidays during the year; 2s per Bhift extra for night shifts, and Is per day extra for men and sixpence for boys engaged at dirty work as described in the schedule. - Mr. Kennedy, for the union, called a number of men who gave evidence as ,to wages and hours at present observed in the trade. Mr Kennedy nointed out that in the Government Work shops the lowest wages paid were Os per day, while in the Ironworkers' Award the rate fixed for unskilled labor was Is l'/ 2 d per hour. Moreover, wages for general laborers in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland had now been increased to Is 2d per hour, and he maintained, as general laborers could not do the work of metal workers, that the j latter should be paid more. Tie added that the reason for the mtn demanding an award for one year ooly was that there was now a movement afoot to amalgamate the various unions in the industry, and this could not be done if they got a long-dated award. Mr. F. Allen, speaking on b.>lialf of the employers, declared that the iron trade, ipeakiwr generally, was never in worse condition than to-day. Some time ago the employers in their own defence, and with the co-operation of tlie employees, waited upon the Premier and urged that the only possible way to save the industry in this Dominion from disaster was j the revision of the Customs tariff'. He did not expect the Court to go into that quest-ion, but he would prove by the employers whom he would call that ] the trade was never in such a shocking j condition. The men's demands in some instances were preposterous. If the fur- ' nacemen, as the men demanded, were paid Is (id an hour, then he hesitated to think what should be paid to highlyskilled tradesmen such as boilemiaker?. The excessive importation of machinery was enough to cause ironfour.ders t( consider whether it would not be bettel for them to close their foundries and become importers. He felt quite sure that the Court would not do anything further to harass the industry and make its plight very much worse than it was at present. He did not know of any more important industry in any country, and wanted to see il encouraged and forwarded. The employers nroposed to take some further steps with regard to the revision of tii. Customs tariff, and he submitted if something was done in that direction that it would then be time enough for the men to come along and apply for benelits. j W. M. (.-able, of Win. Cable and (Jo., [ said his firm was one of the largest of I its kind in the Dominion. In the I ! branches covered by the union's demands ! ; his firm -in 1912 emploveil 1(> 'hands, in j 1»13 18 bands, and at. the present time, j nine of these were employed in store i work in order to keep them going. "At ! the present moment," lie proceeded, 1 ''there is a complete dearth of new work | in the general engineering trade. I have , been in the trade for 3fi years, and I , have no 'hesitation in affirming that the ! trade during the last six months has ; been worse than I have ever experienced. Weeks have da'ised without a single enquiry for new work." He maintained that the wages demanded were excessive, the rates asked for in soni" 1 instances being greater than were paid to highly-skilled tradesmen. The employers were willing to agree to an award on the basis of the Canterbury award. A shilling an hour, he contended, was sufficient for casual lab r. : Win. Crahtree, iron.founder, said business was steadily strinking. Ceo. McGregor, representing .T. J. N-iven and Co., Ltd., Wellington, said - that 14 years ago his firm employed 175 hands. Now it only employed 75. ' Another witness stated that the. ironfounders here bad to pay 100 per cent, more wages than English manufacturers : whom they had to compete against, and , 50 per cent, more for material, I The Court reserved its decision and ' adjourned until to-morrow.