H.—ll

XV

last 3-ear, and a decrease in membership of 1,462. This deficiency has been caused by the cancellation of several large unions, some of which, I understand, joined the Federation of Labour, viz. :— Members. Auckland Builders', &c, Labourers ... ... ... ... 760 Auckland Electric Tramways ... ... ... ... ... 354 Hikurangi Coal-miners ... ... ... ... ... ... 132 Waihi Gold-miners ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,350 Waikato Coal-miners (including Huntly) ... ... ... ... 465 Wellington Section, Australasian Federated Seamen... ... ... 1,026 Wellington Wharf Labourers ... ... ... ... ... 1,531 Lyttelton Stevedores ... ... ... ... ... ... 428 Timaru Waterside Workers ... ... ... ... ... 94 Dunedin Waterside Workers ... ... ... ... ... 386 The membership of new unions, although large, has not quite made up for the deficiency. The following table shows the numbers of members of workers' unions as shown in the returns in their respective trade groups : —* Trades. Numbers. Agriculture ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4,531 Building and woodworking ... ... ... ... ... 8,730 Clothing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4,733 Iron and metal ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,717 Shipwrighting ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 181 Light, heat, and power producing ... ... . ... 104 Food ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,382 Mining ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,698+ Printing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,246 Transport ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 13,501 + Leather ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,128 Stone, clay, and allied trades ... ... ... ... ... 331 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6,347 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... 55,629 The work in connection with the registration of industrial unions continues to be fairly regular. For the year ending 31st March, 1912, twenty-eight workers' unions (with 2,180 members) and six employers' unions (with 165 members) were registered, whilst seventeen workers' unions voluntarily cancelled registration. Four associations of workers were also registered during the period. The provisions of the Act permitting of the amalgamation of unions in the one industry was responsible for the cancellation of four unions, which amalgamated and reregistered under one name. Fifteen workers' unions, seven employers' unions, and two associations of workers were cancelled as being defunct, having failed to send in returns according to section 17 of the Act. Under the amendment passed last session eleven workers' unions availed themselves of the power of altering their titles. This promises to be a very useful provision, as, on a very simple procedure, unions can more clearly indicate their scope in their titles without having to cancel registration, as was the case prior to the amendment coming into force. Thirty-three complete and thirty-six partial amendments of rules were accepted during the period. Arbitration Court, dec. For the seven years 1906-12 awards have been made by the Arbitration Court as follows :— Year. Number. Year. Number. 1905-6 ... ... ... 52 1909-10 ... ... ... 88 1906-7 ... ... ... 59 1910-11 .".'.' ... ... 74 1907-8 ... ... .. 98 1911-12 ... ... ... 80 1908-9 ... ... ... 88 —a total of 540 for the period.

*The two groups of trades marked f show a falling-off in membership of—Mining, 4,689 to 2,698, and transport, 17,104 to 13,501. All the other groups show a substantial increase.