376
THE BRITISH EMPIRE : — NEW SOUTH WALES
III. Manufacturks. The following table is compiled from the returns of 1918-19 :-
Value of
Goods
Classification
Estab- lishm'ts
Em- ployees
Materials and fuel
Manufac- tured or
used
work done
Treating raw pastoral products .
244
4,145
£
8,072,0531
9,706,230
Oils and fats, animal, vegetable, &c.
40
1,385
2,455,431
3,188,749
Processes in stone, clay, glass, Ac. .
290
6,531
1,013,744
2,581,575
Working in wood .....
696
8,374
2,992,036
4,560,888
Metal works, machinery, &c.
630
28.129
16,682,137
24,669,994
Connected with food and drink, &c. .
805
17,955
25,999,986
31,991,329
Clothing and textile fabrics and materials.
960
26,266
5,83^,160
9,719,421
Books, paper, printing and engraving
467
9,812
2,313,449
4,470, 684
Musical instruments, etc.
18
445
78,409
196,256
Arms and Explosives
5
1,119
61.S47
424,088
Vehicles & fittings, saddlery, harness, <fec.
469
4,697
667,124
1,488,239
Ship and boat-building
37
5,097
700,902
1,732,149
Furniture, bedding and upholstery .
258
3,844
860,541
1,553,868
Drugs, chemicals and by-products
115
2,274
507,328
2,541,187
18
186
26,612
78,681
53
767
129,989
294,902
237
4,032
1,808,142
4,307,932
Leatherware, not elsewhere included
32
855
353,456
516,655
Minor Wares, not elsewhere included
86
1,678
474,517
780,191
5,460
127,591
12,035,493"
104,803,018
1 Including value of wool treated.
Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation.
The Industrial laws of New South Wales provide for the regulation of the conditions of industries by means of industrial conciliation and arbitra- tion, and for the repression of strikes and lock-outs. Provision has been made for the registration of industrial unions of employers and of employees, for the constitution of a Court of Industrial Arbitration and subsidiary Tri- bunals — such as Wages or Industrial Boards — to decide disputes and to determine rates of wages and other industrial matters, and for the appoint- ment of a Board of Trade, under the presidency of a Judge of the Court, to exercise extensive powers regarding industrial conditions.
An Industrial Board, consisting of a chairman and two or four other members, representing equally the employers and employees, may be con- stituted for any industry or group of industries on the recommendation of the Industrial Arbitration Court ; also special boards to determine questions of demarcation. A Board may make an award fixing the lowest rates of wages, up to a maximum of £10 per week, the times and hours of work, the rates of payment for overtime, and the proportionate number of apprentices, and granting preference of employment to unionists, and determining any other industrial matter.
The Court or a board may deal with wages and hours of employment, but no award may bo made for wages lower than the living wage declared by the Boaid of Trade. Employees in rural industries are entitled to the living wage as determined after separate inquiry. Aged, infirm or slow workers may obtain permits to work for less than the minimum wage.
The Industrial Boards have been arranged upon the basis of craft or calling, those relating to allied industries being grouped under one chairman.
