ENG-1953 — Page 48

OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION

and because sharks had done unusually heavy damage to fishing gear. After fourteen days most fishermen accepted a temporary reduction of 5% in their share of the takings and gradually returned to work.

1,450 men were involved and an estimated 33,000 man days were lost.

A dispute in the rattan chair manufacturing industry arose over a demand by unions in the trade (of which there are several) that manufacturers should continue to pay a piece rate of 6.8 times the pre-war rate, which had been adopted during the boom period following the war. (The average rate in the Colony is about four to four-and-a-half times that prevailing pre-war). A number of meetings between the parties concerned were held in the Labour Department and were remarkable for the uncooperative attitude adopted by officials of one of the unions concerned, which controls over 60% of the workers in the industry. There were several unproduc- tive meetings, but the dispute was eventually settled after the department had suggested that this obstruction be ignored and direct negotiations opened between employers and their workers. This had the desired effect and work was resumed within two days, the above-mentioned union announcing that it had been decided to do so "in the interests of all concerned and to bring about a quick settlement." The strike affected about 3,000 men and 114,000 man days were lost. In the early stages of the dispute some of the workers involved were responsible for acts of sabotage, such as slashing the manufactured chairs, etc., of individual employers.

Minor Disputes. The number of minor disputes has remained more or less the same as last year. However, it was noticeable that towards the end of the year, the monthly totals decreased progressively, possibly auguring a turn for the better. A total of 1,459 cases had been dealt with by the end of the year and 64 were pending.

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