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UNITED LABOR PARTY

CONDUCTED BY THE DOMINION EXKCUTIYE COUNCIL. (Tlio Easter Conference of tlio United Labour Party voted to make no paper it-y special organ, but to provide official news and comments to any paper promising to regularly publish the -same. Hie paper is not responsible for this column and the party assumes no responsibility for any utterances of the paper except for its own ofiicial utterances! in this department.

OUil INTEREST IN JMMIGRA 'J'I ON. Tho courts have lately been busy with more (ban one of our newcomers. The charges havo all been serious, and prove, that we have been subsidising ships to bring us undesirable immigrants. The undesirables arc certainly a small proportion of tlio whole, Init wo don't wa.nt even one.

Any .f.nrt of British will not do for New Zealand. That Pillar of British Conservatism, the London "Times." would seen to think so, for it recentlv said :

Government inducements to emi- ! grants should, perhaps, be, itiore ! carefully supervised than is at present the case. We can keep our better population if we try, and the Dominion ~ can still find ample material for their needs in the classes which they now repel. If thoFi' 1 sentiments are nt all popular in Home circles; then the N-ew Zealand Government ought to lot it he known that they are not popular:here. We are trying to build better than the older civilisations, and we want a happier and healthier people. , Importing mental or-physical misfit? will not help towards attaining our ideal, and we aro not prepared to welcome tho lame and the halt, oven though they come from the home of our fathers.

That'is one side of tho immigration problem. Tf wo intend importing people, none but tho fit are cjno-d investments. Xow comos tho miostion. Do \vc want immigrants? Tho only satisfactory siivj-i-i' is Yes (under proner •conditions). Unlock the land, so that those who to become primary producers vi'l ?>ofc before'd to in tho cities nun with citv workers for fity inhs. Wlien there is a. reversal of the present position—land ready for tl«o. people, instead of a score of applicants for each block of land —it will he time to applaud an immigration policy. If immigration simply moans building up city,populations and increasing the competition for 'jobs the workers' hoed not be exI'pected to 'be enthusiastic in' its 'impport, j Tho he.sf pnnulatioii for any country |is itm home grown. An infusion of new j blood is also beneficial. But we have ( lost much population during the p;v | few years—.come of it native-born land therefore best—by the emigration ito Australia. And now comes the cry of unemployed from, Australia. Wo will get back some of our lost sons [and daughters in tho natural order of things. \Yo have emigrating and immigrating, and if things unfortunately go wrong in Australia, our balance will bo quickly restored. T am writing tliis note to-da.y mainly to explode some fallacious- estimates. Tn everv city we hear employers) of I,'tho'- declare that they could i employ so many men. women, or juveniles workers in addition, to present stalls. Tf you a.sk for further particulars thev orofess to have made elab-

I orate calculations of tho work thov have lost through want of labor. All that supposed demand, however, if- 1 built on wrong assumptions. To illustrate, let us take a concrete case. Tn tlio clothing industry the demand for female labor is supposed to be par f ularly keen.' I know of cases of shortage of work, but that does not affect mv immediate argument. Let us suir--poso that a large-clothing order is to be made up. One firm refuses and perhaps two or three others do likewise—in s<ome cases this ono order may have gone the gamut of a dozen firms, and still remain unplaced. Each of the dozen manufacturers estimates this as an order which lie missed through not being able to make it un oil the moment. And so the supposed demand for labor in this cape is estimated largely on a multiplied market. If the first finn bad completed the job the others would never have known of it. This ono instance will show how dangerous it is to place much weight on the repeated agitation for more citv workers.

In Nov South Wales elaborate estimates of the .shortage of labor were made. A wholesale immigration policy w-n;i adopted-. Employers gave specific assurances "of certain stated periods of certain employment far imported Inlxir. To-day many of those assurances liavo been repudiated, and many workers are workless. Xew South Wales hay reserved its immigration policy. There h no need for us to go through such an experience... But it would be wise to keep our oyes open and to he watchful as to the future policy of immigration THE PJROPOSEI) CONFERENCE. •It is proposed In a circular signed by the secretary of the Federation of Labor to call a conference of trades nnreus to meet on January 21st in Wellington.

•Tust \\ hat sort of work this conference would undertake is not very definitely stated, but it is proposed least that it shall consider changes inthe arbitration law

Concerning "this there are a number of things which ought to !*> understood. Those calling this conference ought, to state very plainly their position concerning those matters: Firstly ( what are the amendments t° t,he Arbitration Act propo-sed l)v

tho federation ? Secondly. If the amendments proposed by tho federation are adopted by tho con for on co and enacted into . law, will the toleration then register, or urge the unions, of which it is com- I posed, to rogi>ster and to act under i the law after it shall have, been amend- j ed in accordance with its wishes? Thirdly. Do tho amendments which it proposes contemplate the reconstruction of tho court, and, if so, in what manner? fourthly. Is it proposed to ask for united action on the part of labor as bearing only oil such questions as can be dealt whh by an Arbitration Court, or under strikes or voluntary agreement:-' and ignore the whole constructive wold of all industrial activity and the general social interests of Labor? If the workers <£ain everything that can be gained through an arbitration award, either as the. court, is now constituted under tho law a-s it now stands, or under any possible revision of the law, or rearrangements in tho court, it would-still be true that by advancing prices for commodities, purchased by Labor, the employers would bo able to take back through, advancing.prices more than had been conceded by them through any voluntary ( [ agreement, or demanded from them i by any court award. It cannot be disputed that the question -of land monopoly is the most serious of all questions, in behalf of labor everywhere, but this is particularly true in .Yew Zealand. Are the trades unions in Xew Zealand asked to unite in establishing a policy concerning a minor matter like arbitration, and ignore questions of the most fundamental importance to all workers like tho laud 'monopoly? Again, if the Arbitration Act or any other question involving legislation' is to be dealt with ofTeeti'velv only through political action. There are a ' very large number o. f vorv active and earnest worker," organised, and actively interested in promoting a definite programme concerning all these matters. As n result of some years of effort tho Labor movement '•? taking sbppe as a political power in New .Zoa 1 a0. ,, :L but thi-: "onference utterly Mrwess nil nolitica.l organisations in behalf of Labor, and while it proposes f" r!o->l v.-it-h •• eitro'v nolit'ca! "'attcr. It proposes no machinery by which to carry out- its political will, while it definitely excludes from representation. all hod'os definitely committed to a political programme. The bad been that the only tiling desired is that Labor shall agree to support, an amendment of the Arbitration Act preventing the organisation -of bogus unions by timall minorities in. cases where the union covering the partieular 'employment is not ;)i registered body. If that is all that is desired no conference is necessary. There is not a. trades union in New Zealand that would not immediately pays a. resolution to that effect. There is no use calling a conference to reiterate a position that would he unanimously supported by tho trades unions without the calling of any such conference. But if the general provisions of the Arbitration Act are to he-discussed, and they certainly need discussion, then . it would *eoin that those who arc to pareipitate in the discussion ought a-t least to be willing to withdraw their opposition to, arbitv t'ion.' and to seek for such a reconstruction of the Arbitration Act, -especially as they propose to help to determine the terms of the Arbitration Act, that an end can bo made of tho diso-utes between tho unions over the policy of arbitration and conciliation.

]f this is iiat intended then why tho call for this conference at fill? If this is intended tliat a series of articles should be published at once, and i-all those who expect to attend the conference, and all those belonging to tho uninvited and tho exchided who nevertheless are profoundly interested in these problems and sincerely devoted t-o their solution, should havo an opportunity to be heard. An article recently published on this page made the following sugestions concerning amendments to the arbitration la w: 1. The living wage. 2. Tho eight hour 1 day. 3. The weekly half-holiday: in six day industries, and tho weekly day of rest in seven-day industries. 4. Preference to unionists. 5. Equal pay- for equal work. 6. Trade apprenticeship and . tlio fixed limitation of apprentices and juniors. 7. The common rule and the award grouping of trades and industries. 8. The abolition of tho contract and day-labor only system. 9. The compulsory insurance of workers by all employers bound by the Act.

These proposals centainly are entitled to serious consideration. Space will be devoted each day to tho discussion of these questions, and. Mr Glover, secretary of the federation ■which makes the call for a special conference, i« especially invited, to contribute to this discussion. If ho will send his materials to ■ this office thoy will be given courteous treatment. If he will put them in the "Maorilamdl Worker" they will be given the same courtesy as if sent to this paper direct.

But any. discussion of tlris. question' must he undertaken <lisbiiictly on the ground that it is • undertake!) 'in" behalf of the position of direct commitment -to the- policy of conciliation and arbitration by. legally constituted methods of industrial disputes. Those wlio are otipo'Sorl to such methods are not entitled to a, voice or to consideration in determining the dcta.i 1 s of the methods to be adopted by those who do favor- such methods and are ready to be governed by tliem.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAG19121209.2.28

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 9 December 1912, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,812

UNITED LABOR PARTY Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 9 December 1912, Page 6

UNITED LABOR PARTY Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 9 December 1912, Page 6

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