Australia, New Zealand and some islands of the South seas

by Frank G. Carpenter

This conversation gives you some idea of work and wages in New Zealand. Though there is some variation among the different industries, forty-four hours is the usual working week of the labouring man, and every one has his weekly half holiday. For any work beyond the standard number of hours in a day or week the men usually get paid time and a half or even double time.

My carpenter friend is typical of the New Zealand worker, who is a well-paid, well-housed, and well-fed individual. I noticed in Wellington, as here in Auckland, a general air of well-being and prosperity. The people are polite and friendly and do not seem inclined to take things in too much of a hurry. They are proud of their town, as I think they have a right to be.

Auckland is the largest city in the Dominion and is about the size of New Haven, Connecticut. Its spacious inner harbour, which has five and a half miles of smooth deep water, is thirty miles from the open sea. There are nine wharves, swarming with business, but they are not sufficient for the fast-growing port, one of the trade centres of the South Pacific. The annual imports and exports come to more than a hundred million dollars and the figure is growing rapidly.

The city is built up and down hill. Even Queen Street, the chief retail business thoroughfare, is not entirely level. All the tram cars start from the foot of this street, serving not only Auckland itself but suburban towns within a radius of eight miles. The lines are owned by the city, and every one is divided into fare zones of two cents each. Taxicabs are very expensive here, for New Zealand has to pay around a dollar a gallon for gasoline, which is imported from the United States.

Here, as elsewhere in the Dominion, the working men are the lords and their unions have dictated many of the laws. The famous conciliation and arbitration acts not only recognize unions of workers and unions of employers, but encourage their organization. It is provided that a workmen’s union may be composed of fifteen members and any such union may come under the law by registering itself with the Department of Labour. Three or more employers may form a union and register. The Conciliation and Arbitration Act was supposed to provide for the peaceful settlement of all disputes between employers and employed. From 1894, when the first act was passed, until 1905, New Zealand had no strikes. Although this legislation has not entirely prevented strikes in the last twenty years, it has undoubtedly reduced their frequency and severity.

New Zealand is divided into eight industrial districts, each of which has its Council of Conciliation. If there is a dispute, complaint may be made to a council by either party. The council sends for persons and papers, and after examination gives a judgment, which is filed as an industrial agreement.

If either party to the dispute is not satisfied, however, an appeal can be made from a council to the Court of Arbitration of the Dominion. This consists of three members, one of whom is a judge of the Supreme Court. One of the others is nominated by the national association of employers, and the third is named by the trades unions. This court gives the case a rehearing, and its judgment is final. It can fix wages and working hours, and it can impose fines. It may assess damages upon the parties to the suit, and all the property of the loser can be taken to satisfy such claims. If the judgment is against a trades union or an industrial association without property, the individual members of the organization are liable.

The unions do not have to register, and a registered union may, after due notice, withdraw its registration, but so long as it is registered it must abide by the decisions of the Court of Arbitration. Failing to do so, it may have its charter taken away from it. The advantage of registration to the unions is that only a registered union can have an employer brought before either a council or the Court.

Whether registered or not, the employer must appear. An employer or worker bound by an award or an industrial agreement who takes part in a strike or lockout in the industry affected is subject to heavy fine. Unless fourteen days’ notice has been given, a strike or lockout in a public utility or an industry dealing in the necessities of life is considered a statutory offence, even when the party in fault is not bound by an award. A strike in the milk business or on a railroad or street-car line would fall under this provision.

I have before me the official reports of a number of industrial cases. Here is one that came before the Council of Conciliation in Dunedin at the instance of the Dunedin Painters’ Union. The Council decided that the painters should work from eight o’clock until five on five days of the week, and from eight until twelve on Saturday, one hour being allowed each day, except Saturday, for dinner. The decision fixed the number of apprentices, and it provided that employers should hire members of the union in preference to non-union painters.