WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 December 1916, Page 6

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

LABOR TROUBLES. . SETTLEMENT OF DRIVERS' DISPUTE. " (From Our Own Correspondent). Wellington, Dec. 4. The settlement of the drivers' dispute, which had beer, in sight for some days before it was finally announced tliis lrorring, is in a large measure a triumph foi Mr. Herries, the Acting Minister of Labor, whose tact and patience ire being commended by both sides. Tlie men. with public sympathy behind them, might have been tempted to go much further than they did had not the Minister frankly admitted the justice of their claims and at the same time emphasised th> importance of avoiding an industrial upheaval at the present juncture The face of the Arbitration Court was saved by leaving its award nominally intact and giving the men a war bonus according to their grade amounting to about 1C per cent, in each case. TiiiF arrangement i- to continue till three months after the conclusion of the war and public departments having contracts with the Piaster drivers are being instructed to adjust their payments to the altered conditions. It is hoped ttat local bodies and private employers will review their contracts in the same spirit and it is expected that a great majority of them will do so.

• THE MINIMUM. WAGE. It was scarcely necessary tor the Minister to remind employers that it was still open to them to pay more than the minimum wage with the war bonus added, but this authoritative mention of the matter, beside drawing pointed attention to the inadequacy of the Arbitration Court's award, will serve as a reminder that the author of the original Conciliation and Arbitration Act framed th* whole measure on the assumption that the minimum wage would be what its title implies, the smallest wage that could be paid, not the standard wage. o'. course, on this point Mr. Reeves' calculations were all astray, as he «dmittcd himself a few years later, but the failure of his good intentions should not have relegated them to the limbo of the impixfible. Sir John Findlay propounded some time ago a scheme for giving statutory recognition to an "e;;ertion wage" as distinguished from a "living wage," b:it unfortunately the very people he wished to benefit took alarm it his pro posals and he received no encouragement to persevere with them. Perhaps in the light of what has happened since then the labor unions may be better disposed towards the scheme now. LABOR TROUBLES, Ihe settlement of the drivers' dispute, though a comparatively small thing in itself, has distinctly improved the labor outlook. It is known now that the ballot which was taken before the dispute \vi\.> referred to the Cabinet resulted in a iarge majority of the members of the drivers' union voting for striking in the event of an increase of wages being refused and if the negotiations had failed there is no saying how far the trouble would have gone. Practically all the unions in the country were behind tlie drivers with eager expressions of sympathy and most of them with substantial offer of assistance. All eyes are nou turned towards the West Coast where the Blackball and Paparoa miners seem at this distance to be looking for grievances and inviting trouble. People, here who ought to know the temper of ■tie men declare that if they were handled as frankly and discreetly as the drivers were they would be ready enough to (accept a fair and reasonable settlement. But the obvious comment upon this is that they should have sought these aids to conciliation before going out on strike There yet may he time to avert the catastrophe many people are fearing, but ihe prospects would have been brighter if the men had displayed a better sense of their own responsibilities.

(LABOR'S PART. ' The deplorable feature of the labor position just now is the disregard some oi the workers are showing for the pressing needs of the Empire in the present crisis. That the Allies are going to win the war eventually everyone '» assured. But that it will be won in a year, or in two or three, there is no guarantee and can be no guarantee till the British Empire throws all its wan power into the struggle as France and Kussia are throwing theirs. The workers here have more to gain by success and more to lose by failure than have any other sec-' ticti of the community and yet a noisy soulless minority among them are urging, tbeii fellows to «B6 the necessities of the nation as a lever for obtaining extravagant concessions to themselves. Ttere is no need to assume off hand that this is the ease with the miners en the West Coast, but they will have only themselves to blame if the very worst interpretation is placed upon their attitude. It is the poorest of poor services they are rendering to their fellows by astranging public sympathy frtm labor by making it appear that it is canless of what becomes of the Empire in its fight for existence. The workers will come into their own on tin conclusion of peaco more fuliy than ttie.v ever dreamed of before the war and the measure of their triumph, will be the measure of the assistance they give in maintaining, the freedom and integrity of their race. I'OSTPONMEXT OF MOBILISATION Tne postponement of the mobilisation of the 24th Reinforcements until the New Year does not mean delay in the despatch of any one of the four-weekly reinforcement drafts. The number of men at present in camp is not sufficiently large to provide any margin, since the accumulated shortages have not yet licen wiped out by the arrival of a considerable body of compulsorily enlisted men. But the authorities are prepared to re ducc the period of training in New Zealand for one or two drafts, on the understanding that some additional instruction wi'l be given in the United Kingdom before the mer. go to the front. The despatch of a reinforcement draft every fourth week will be continued without a beak, in accordance with, the undertaking given to the Imperial authorities. Hie chief reasor. for the postponement of the mobilisation of the 24th Reinforcements, which normally would have taken place next week, is the impossibility of gciting the ballotted men into cam]) for three or four weeks yet. Many appeals have to be heard and the men must be given time to adjust their nrivate affair. THE AURORA. '.' In- date of the departure of the Aurora for the Antarctic has not been fixed definitely, but the ship.is likely to get | away between December 15 and 20. Sir

[Ernest Shackleton and Captain J. K. Tftwis, who was appointed to command I the relief expedition by the joint Oohave been in Wellington during the. week-end and it is understood that they have arranged matters to their mutual satisfaction. Captain Davis, w'ho lias had the direction of the supplying and manning of the Aurora, will retain the position of master, whib Sir Ernest Shackleton will take charge of any shore operations that may prove [necessary aftev the arrival of the relief '.xpedition in the Ross Sea.