H.—ll.

drivers' award on the 18th May, 1908. Before a union can make a claim, its rules must be altered to provide for admittance as members of those whose claim they prefer. (Vol. ix, Award, p. 336.) Comparison between Minimum Rates under Awards and the Actual Rales paid. In Table 6 appended to this report appears the result of an investigation, as far as factories are concerned, into the extent to which the Arbitration Court in fixing a minimum has or has not lowered the average wage, or injured high rates for especially good workers. It has so often been asserted with blind confidence that every award of a minimum wage has " levelled down "all wages, that it will come as a surprise to the general public to find how few workers have to accept the minimum wage, which is not, as has been so often stated, " the award wage," but a limit of wage below which no persons in that particular trade may be paid. In the bootmaking trade, for instance, in Auckland 66 per cent., in Wellington 85J per cent., in Christchurch 66 per cent., and in Dunedin 50 per cent, of the workers receive wages above the minimum wage. In Auckland 91 per cent,, in Wellington 57J per cent., in Christchurch 50 per cent., and in Dunedin 26 per cent, of the cabinetmakers receive above the minimum wage named in the award. Plumbers and gasfitters receiving wages above the award minimum are—in Auckland 66 percent,, Wellington 19 per cent., in Christchurch 84 per cent,, in Dunedin 59 per cent. It is of no use labouring the matter here by quoting figures too profusely,-since the whole state of the case can be seen by any person studying the table, but the investigation has served to prick one of the bubbles so freely blown by opponents of the Act when trying to gain the sympathy of those whose wages have been for years protected by the industrial Courts from the undercutting of unscrupulous mates or the forcing-down methods of greedy exploiters. Industrial Unions. The returns for industrial unions do not cover the same period as this report. In accordance with statutory directions the unions are enumerated for the complete year (Ist January to 31st December) and not for the financial year, Ist April to 31st March, the period covered by this report, For the last five years the membership of industrial unions was as follows :—

This shows an increase of one employers' union, with an additional membership of 288, and an increase of fifteen workers' unions, with 3,733 added members during the year 1908. As the workers in unions in 1904 numbered 30,271, they have increased by over 19,000 in four years, a proof that the workers have not lost confidence in the value of the Act, in spite of weaknesses disclosed and of the exaggerations sent abroad as to its utter failure. In the following table the unionists have been grouped into occupations during two different years — viz., 1903 and 1908 showing (in the five years noted in the last preceding table) the manner in which the increase of 78 J per cent, has been divided : —

xiii

Unions of Employers, j Unions of Workers*. Number of t Number of Number of Unions. Members. Unions. Number of Members. December, 1904 .. 1905 .. 1906 .. 1907 .. 1908 .. 109 3,292 273 113 3,276 261 109 3,337 274 121 3,630 310 122 3,918 325 109 113 109 121 122 30,271 29,869 34,978 45,614 49,347

Trade. I 1903. 1908. Increase per Cent Agriculture Building Clothing and textile Engineering and shipbuilding Food' Mining Printing Transport Other trades 1,235 3,717 3,158 1,441 2,297 4,145 708 7,749 3,190 2,781 7,622 4,233 1,686 4,905 5,187 1,173 16,538 5,222 125-1 105-7 34-0 17-0 113-5 25-1 65-6 113-4 63-6 Totals 27,640 49,347 Increase of unionists 21,707 78-5