H.—ll.

to this unless all the workers were paid for the time lost. This the management refused to do. Finally, at a conference asked for by the workers it was agreed that if the company had the shot adjusted and fired the union would waive their claims for payment. Work was resumed on these conditions. The mine was idle from the Bth to the 26th March. Proceedings under the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913, resulted in 338 men being fined a total of £160 10s. for taking part in an unlawful strike. Freezing-works Employees, Ngahauranga (Wellington). —The slaughtermen objected to the employment of a man who was said to have been employed as a free labourer during the general strike of 1913. The management agreed not to employ the man concerned, but the workers then demanded that three workers should be paid extra to act as " clock-men " — i.e., to regulate the killing-rate of each man. When this was refused they adopted a "go slow" policy, which was continued for three working-days. Proceedings taken for a breach of the award, which provided that any question arising should be settled by a disputes committee and that work should not be interrupted, resulted in seventy-two men being fined 10s. each. Freezing-works Employees, Westfield (Auckland). —The slaughtermen demanded that a particular sheej) be regarded as a " stag," for the killing and dressing of which double rates were payable under the award, and refused to agree to the matter being referred to the disputes committee provided by the award for the settlement of such questions. "Go slow " tactics were adopted to compel the management to accede to the demand, and the works were then closed down by the company. Approximately 250 men were thrown out of employment. After six days, during which negotiations between the parties took place, the management re-employed the workers upon condition that the normal rate of killing was resumed. This was done. Proceedings resulted in eighteen men being fined £1 each for a breach of the award under which the men were working, which provided that the work of the employer should always proceed in the customary manner and should not on any account whatsoever be impeded. It will be seen that these disturbances were confined to coal-miners and slaughtermen, and that the questions involved did not relate to wages or hours, but merely to minor matters. Industrial Disturbances, Ist April, 1922, to 31st March, 1928. The following information respecting the industrial disturbances that have occurred in New Zealand during the past six years will be of interest. In the figures given disturbances are excluded where there was no dispute with the employers (such as quarrels between the workers themselves, stop-work meetings, and the like). In other cases a disturbance extending simultaneously over several districts respecting the same matter has been counted as one disturbance only. Some of the disturbances consisted of refusals to work overtime without a cessation of work during ordinary hours —e.g., waterside work on Saturday afternoons—and refusals of coal-miners to work on certain Saturdays. In these cases the total amount of time so lost is counted as equivalent to the number of days shown in column 3.

The above figures show that out of a total of 236 industrial disturbances 210 (89 per cent.) occurred amongst the three classes of workers above mentioned, and the . emaining 26 (11 per cent.) took place in thirteen other industries. No disturbances occurred in the remaining sixty industries in which there are industrial unions. The three classes of workers referred to were also responsible for 70 (88| per cent.) of the disturbances lasting over three day 6 (column 3).

8

(1) (2) ' " (3) „ , i Number lasting Workers affected. -n Disturbances. —r : One Day or les8. Over Three Days. I Shipping and waterside workers . 103 48 27 j 28 Miners ........ 84 34 21 29 Freezing-workers .... 23 4 6 : 13 210 86 54 70 ! New Zealand Railways employees . . 1 .. .. 1 Flax-mill workers .. . . 2 .. .. 2 Sawmill workers.. .. .. 2 .. .. 2 Plasterers .. .. .. 1 .. .. 1 Shearers (small parties) .... 6 4 1 1 Storemen ...... 5 4 1 Labourers ...... 3 2 1 Gasworkers .. .. .. 1 1 .. Metal-workers' assistants .. .. 1 1 Stage employees .... 1 1 Electrical workers .... 1 1 Hydro-electric workers .... 1 .. .. 1 Tunnel workers .. .. . 1 .. .. 1 26 14 3 9 Totals .. .. 236 100 57 79