Trades and Labour Council.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 263, 30 September 1902, Page 3

Trades and Labour Council.

A meeting of the Canterbury Fridas and Laboir Council was held in the Trades Mall on Saturday evening, the President in the chair, Mr S. D >nham, of the Waimate Workers’ Union, and Mr McMarg, ef the Canterbury Sn arors’ Union, were present at the invitation of the executive. Correspondence was received from the ‘-'annate Workers’ Union, Canterbury Shearers’ and Traction Engine Drivers and Firemen's Unions, expressing their approval of the effort to organise the agricultural and pastoral workers. Mr Boreham gave a lengthy address on the country workers, who, he said, were badly treated, and that lads of 17 and 18 were set to drive a team of six horses in a double furrow plough for from 6s to 12s a week. The country workers of Canterbury numbered from seven to eight thousand, of which about 1,100 were organised.

It was decided to write to the three unions interested and ask them to jointly recommend to the Council an organiser to organise the whole of the country workers in the district, and to state what amount they can guarantee towards his support. The committee submitted the result of the appeal to the unions as to whether they were in favour of running candidates at the coming election, and expressed regret at the apathy shown by some of unions in not having replied. The Council decided that as eleven unions were in favour of the proposal (being a majority of those who had replied), three candidates be run, and the unions be asked to send in nominations, one condition to be that either unionists or nonunionists will be accepted, providing they pledge themselves not to test the election if they are not selected at the final ballot.—Press.