H.—ll

X

information'was laid by the Inspector of Factories against the Tramway Company. The oase wu heard by the Arbitration Court from the Ist to the 4th May, and the oompany was fined £5 mid costs (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 288). The workers" union was also pr>ceeded against for taking part in a strike, and was fined £1 without costs (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 293). For dismissing employees in order that those employees should not obtain 1 he benefits of an award, a Wellington firm was fined £5 and costs (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 358). For dismissing a worker while the final disposition of an industrial dispute was pending, a Christchurch bootmaker, on the 10th December, 1907, was fined £6 and the Court fees (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 1107). The judgment of the Court insists that legally the onus oi proof rests on the employer to show that he does not dismiss his employee on account of a dispute when proceedings are pending. C The Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand Company was cited to answer a charge of creating a lock-out in the Golden Fleece Mine at Keefton. The dispute arose from the " eight-hours-bank-to-bank " question, and the arrangement of overtime-payment. The Court held that the oompany had not closed down the work of the mine in order to lock its men out, but to make a necessary connection with the workings of another mine. The case was dismissed on the 6th May, 1907 (Book of Awards Vol. viii). Another alleged lock-out was the subject of a Court hearing on the 11th and 12th March, 1908. The Blackball miners brought actions for breach of award against the Blackball Coal Company for wrongfully dismissing seven of its workers. Another breach was alleged through the action of dismissal of the seven workers being on account of their being trade-unionists. The judgment declared that no lock-out had taken place, and that the men had not been dismissed lor unionism, but because there had been trouble as to trucking. The application was dismissed, the minera to pay £3 3s. costs of the company (Book of Awards, Vol. ix, p. 60). A country newspaper was fined £1, with Inspector's costs £2 25., for publishing on the 16th May, 1907, remarks which might prejudicially affect a case then under consideration by the Conciliation Board (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 936). On 6th November, 1907, an important case was heard before the Arbitration Court in regard to the Wellington Cooks and Waiters' Union. The Conciliation Board had made a recommendation dealing with the w> ges and hours of work of cooks, waiters, &c, and this recommendation had become law through no application for appeal to the Arbitration Court having been made within the prescribed time by the employers. Hotelkeepen were charged with having committed breaches of this recommendation as though it had become an industrial agreement. On the Ilth November, 1907, the Court dismissed the applications tor enforcements on a technical point, which rendere ! the'agreement iuva'id. The Cooks and Waiters' Union was ordered to pay £5 ss. costs (Hook of Awards Yol viii, p. 927). Following this an award was applied for by the Cooks and Waiters - Union, and was granted on the 19th December, 1907 (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 970). An interesting development in making wage-earning more flexible in its rates than usually is the case may be found in the industrial agreement of the Taranaki butter, dreamery, and oheese factories (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 452). l>, this the factories arc classified as to output, and the rages of the workers are graduated according to the factory's class in the scale of importance, and according to the time of the year. The Arbitration Court, on the iith August, deputed the Hoard of Conciliation of Canterbury to investigate a dispute and report thereon. The case referred to concerned the Canterbury Sheepowners' Union, which had been brought into Court by the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Labourers, and a large number of farmers had been cited as parties. The inveetigetion has been going on for some months, and an enormous mass of evidence collected bul the Hoard has not vet reported to the Court (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 606). An interesting conference presided over by the Hon. Mr. .1. A. Millar, Minister of Labour, brought about an industrial agreement between the Australian Federated Seamen's Onion and several large shipping companies, including the Union Shipping Company. The agreement was embodied in an award issued by the Arbitration Court on the 4th April, 1908 (Book of Awards, Vol. xi, p. 188). The vexed question of " bespoke-work " in the tailoring trade was the subject of several applications for enforcement of award on the Ist May, 1907. In this provision of the award protection is given not only to the workers, but to the general public, inasmuch as it prevents the sale of faotorymade suits as tailor-made. The Court upheld most of the applications, inflicting a fine of £5 with costs £2 2s. in each case, but two other cases were dismissed (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 229). The "preference to unionists" given on the 6th June, 1907, to the Wellington Painters' Union (Book of Awards, Vol. viii, p. 314) is more decidedly favourable to the worker than is generally the