LABOR DISPUTES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2107, 4 October 1890, Page 3

LABOR DISPUTES.

Londoh, Sept. 30. The Scorch furnace men demand eight hours os a day’s labor. The masters have refused the request and the furnaces will stop on Saturday. At the Congress of the Dockers Union, to-day, a resolution that no step* should be taken to block Australian ships was carried. The Conference favors the creation of Boards of Arbitration, Oet.l. Mr Tom Mann, president of the London Dock Laborers’ Union has informed the members that it is necessary that those in work should raise a fighting fund to the amount of £50,060. The Dockers at Grangemouth, a sea. port town of Stirling, Scotland, are insisting npoa a six months’ agreement, Sydney, Oct. 1 .

The Steamship Owners’ Association are now .uniting almost sufficient vessels to meet the requirements of trade. Nearly 50,000 tons of coal are afloat from England, India, and Japan.

The broken Hill miners, after a stormy meeting, decided to uphold the action of 'he delegates. The Labor Defence Committee has determined to allow bullion to be put on board ships at Port Pirie. The strike is consequently at an end, and all the miners will resum" work immediately, Wholesale prosecutions of shearers for breaches of agreement are taking place, and in a test case at Denilipnin one of the shearers was mulcted in a fine of £lO in addition to costs. A large nomber cf casus bang on the decision, Oct. 2, The strike at Broken Hill is estimated to have cost the men £SO,QCO. After taking a legal opinion the shearers decided to contest the action of the squatters in refusing to pay wages to the men who struck. Many of the latter have gone to goal in preference to paying the fines, Melbourne. Oct. 1.

Chief Justice Higinbotham has given £SO to the strike food, and promised £lO per week. The half-yearly report of the Employers’ Dhion states that throughout the present difficulty the masters had never dircussed or entertained the idea of increasing hours or altering wages. Brisbane, Oct. 1.

The gas workers have notified that they will no longer contribute to the strike fund and intimate their intention

of severing their connection with the Labor Federation.

Twelve officers and sixteen stewards who left the Australian United Steam Company have returned to their vessels unconditionally.

NEW ZEALAND. Palmerston Nokth, Oct. 3. At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce last evening it was decided to invite the various employers of labor at Manawatu, Rangitiki,aud Horowhenua to a conference at Palmerston, to discuss the proposal to form a free association of employers and workmen of the Manawatu and west coast. Dwnbdin, Get. 1. The Brunner left here to-day for Westport. She has about 5 non-unionists on board, who start work on arrival in the Westport Coal Company’s mine. Another complement is to be' picked up at Wellington bringing the the total up to 160. The Brunner took sixty-seven men for Westport to work the coal mines. Wbstfokt, Oct. 2. Twelve more constables arrived here by the Murray to-day. It is understood that they go to Deonistonon arrival of the free laborers by the Brunner. This evening about three hundred miners and their wives burnt an effigy of a feee laborer who is working the break at Denniston. The affvir took plaoa opposite the tnan’a house. Soma stones were aiso thrown on the roof of the house.

The Timaru Employers LsßOciatipn declined to send delegates tft the I'bor conference while the right to employ free labor is denied by unionists.

THE CONFERENCE. WBLHN«i-Tolif, Opt, X. The delegates appoiutpd by the various labor organisations to attend the conference in accordance with (he resolution of Parliament assembled at the Parliamentary Buildings at three o’clock this afternoon. Those present were :—Mr J. A. MUUr, •'ederated Seamen’s fJnicm, Stewards 1 and Cooks’ UnioDj Auskland Trades and Labor Council; Captain Highman and MrCornieh, Marine Officers’ Association; Messrs Fisher. Brown, and Seymour, Wharf Laborers’ Union ; Messrs Lomas a»d Ancell, New Zealand Amalgamated Miners’ tion ; Messrs F. Millar apd T. Mills, New. Zealand Typographical Society ; Messrs Elvinas and Winter, Railway Servants’ Moiety ; Messrs Graham, Johnson, Jones Moyer, Hutchison, Mudge, and Avery,, ; ellington Trades Council; Messrs Parker, ind Sanford, Canterbury Trades Council; Messrs Dobson and Williams, New 2!eaund Federated Calt^•rs , Union ; Mr Browett, Wellington Bootmakers’ Union. The Bon. George McLean was expected to be present on behalf of the

Union Company, but the Wanaka did not arrive in time. . Under the circumstances no chairman jvas appointed, and the proceedings were of an informal character, lasting only a few minutes, . Mr Waldegrave, of the Colonial Secretary’s Department, attended as official secretary. He stated that so far as he knew Mr McLean would bo the only employers’ representative present. .

The Labor Conference resumed tbia morning, when the Hon. G, McLean and Mr Hoban president of the Railway Servants’ Society, were present. p. Fisher was elected chairman and deprecated any forcible speeches. It was decided to request the Premier immediately to ask the Railway Commissioners to be present. Mr McLean then,rose and spoke in much the same strain as in his interview with a Press reporter here a few days ago. He could not see why unionists should not work with non-unionists. It was no new thing, and the only condition was that non-union men were put ashore when unionists were available. His statement that the company must stand by the men who had worked for them during the strike was cheered. Mr J. A. Millar denied that the unions deaired the Union Company to withdraw from the Shipowners’ Association, as capital had the same right as labor to federate. The company bad a perfect right to man their boats as they liked, but they could not compel union and nonunion men to work side by side. They agreed that the dispute had been carried out fairly and labor had not waited till the company, were bn their knees. They combated the assertion that the unions were conservative, and quoted in proof that the company had to hunt far and wide for labor and now there were not ten competent seamen on the boats. As to the fees being prohibitive, he would say that when they were less it simply gave an inducement for men to desert their ships and the increase was advocated by those who now condemned tt. lu conclusion he declared emphatically that so far as the men he represented were concerned they would on no condition agree to work with nonunionists. , Mr R. Seymour spoke britiy and the conference adjourned till till the afternoon. , Mr McLean pointed out that union men when work was scarce, ware ready to work with non-unionists and thus violated their principle. He did not see why both should not work together as no man had a right to prevent another from getting a living. The union entrance foes were excessive, and made it difficult for a man to get in. He remarked that there were more officers, cooks and stewards now applying for work than they had room for, and the vessels were maned by the lower of New Zealand’s seamen. _ , Mr Aecell, Mr W. Boaae.Mr P. Brown, Captsin Highman, Mr Lomas, and Mr Hoban gave short addresses',' in the course of them reiterating the determination of unionists not to work with nonunionists. The chairman read a letter from the Premier, enclosing a memorandum from Mr McKerrow, stating that, as the Unromisiioneis considered that they should preserve perfect neutrality in trade disputes, they must decline to attend the conference. Got. 3.

The Conference wai resumed this morning, when Mr Sandford, oftho Canterbury Tradee and Labour Oounoi), in the course a loathly speech contended that the Union Company deliberately themselves with the shipowners combinatione in Australia whose avowed intention was to crush the unionists. Ho thought the true solution of the labour difficulty was to federate, so as to form a council of the two classes, who could meet and arrive at a settlement of any die* putes arising, Mr McLean defended the action of the Shipowners Association of Australia, and said they had not lifted a finger till attacked. He had everything to say in favour of unionism, but in the present instance the unions bad ridden the high horse and gone too far. Since the strike the company were getting the flower of the young men of New Zealand into their boats. Many of the officers, cooks and stewards were returning to the Company, and he challenged Mr Millar to take the embargo off the seamen and firemen, when most of them would be only too glad to see the Company. He thought the great fault in connection with the present trouble lay in the fact that the Union Company had not been brought face to face with the difficulty before extreme measures were resorted to, as some means might have been adapted tQ avoid the strike.

At noon the conference adjourned until 230,