7.-Trade Disputes. 20,000 kr. allotted for the salaries of conciliators in trade disputes. G. 1, 6, 342; App. 4, 1, 7, 53; 10, 6; Ch. I. i., 16, 24; Ch. II. i., 20, 65. 8.-Industrial Inspection. Entered as expenditure: for 8 Inspectors of Industry 40,000 kr.; for one assistant, 3,000 kr.; for clerical assistance, etc., 12,000 kr.; for occasional inspections, 2,000 kr. ; total, 57,000 kr. for 1908. G. 1, 7, 158; App. 4, 1, 8, 28 ; Io, 7 ; Ch. I., I, 19, 18 ; Ch. II. ii., 24, 49. 9.-Agricultural Labourers. The Riksdag requests the Government to institute inquiries into the best methods of investigating the condition of agricultural labourers, and to introduce a Bill on the subject. M. Ch. II., 161; App. 8, 2, 2, 25; 8, 2, 1, 18; 10, 222; Ch. I. iv., 50, 3; Ch. II. iii., 44, 61. 12th June, 1906. Resolution of the Ständerat rejecting the Federal Council's Bill. (Sten. Bull. 1906, pp. 504-14.) 2.-Sick and Accident Insurance. Message of the Federal Council, dated December 10th, 1906 (Bundesbl. VI., 229), on the draft Federal law relating to sick and accident insurance. BULLETIN 13 III. SUMMARY OF RESOLUTIONS OF CON GRESSES OF ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMORIALS CONCERNING LABOUR I. Labour Legislation of General Application. 1. Extract from the principles enunciated at the inaugural meeting of the National Union for Liberal Germany. (Nat. Verein f. d. Lib. Deutschland.) 2. Extract from the resolutions of the Central Committee of the Commercial, Professional and Industrial Unions of Berlin. (Kaufmännisch. Gewerbl. u. Industriel. Vereine) II. Labour Legislation for Particular Trades. I. Mining: (a) Extract from the resolutions of the seventeenth General Meeting of the Miners' Federation of Germany (the old Federation). (Verb. d. Bergarbeiter Deutschlands.) (b) Extract from the resolutions of the eleventh General Meeting of the Trade Union of Chris ian Miners of Germany. (Gewerkverein christl. Bergarbeiter., 2. Trade and Commerce : (a) Extract from the resolutions of the seventeenth General Meeting of the German Federation of Commercial Societies. (Verb. Kaufmännisch. Vereine.) (b) Extract from the resolutions of the tenth Congress of German Commercial Employees. (Handlungsgehilfentag.) (c) Memorial presented to the Ministry of the Interior at Dresden by the German National Association of Commercial Employees. (Handlungsgehilfenverb.) (d) Extract from the Programme of the Swiss Commercial Union. (Kaufmännisch. Ver.) III. Employers' Liability and Insurance. 1. Extract from the resolutions of the twenty-first Sectional Meeting of Section 1 of the West German Inland Navigation Trade Association. (Berufsgenossenschaft.) I. 7 2. 3. 4. Declaration issued by the twenty-first Congress of Trade Extract from the resolutions of the seventeenth General Extract from the resolutions of the Central Committee for the State Pension Insurance of Private Employees. 5. Extract from the resolutions of the tenth Congress of German Commercial Employees. (Handlungsgehilfentag.) 6. Extract from the resolutions of the ninth General Meeting of the General Union of German Booksellers' Assistants. (Verein. Buchhandlungsgehilfen). 7. Extract from the resolutions of the Meeting of Delegates (medical men and officers) from the Hungarian District Sick Clubs. 8. Memorial addressed to the Swiss National Council and I. Labour Legislation of General Application. Extract from the principles enunciated by Herr. Erkelenz, Trade Union Secretary (Hirsch-Dunckers), at the inaugural meeting of the National Union for Liberal Germany, held on 22nd and 23rd June at Heidelberg. Permanent security of the labour conditions of qualified workers in accordance with those prevailing during times of good business (collective agreements). Appreciable extension of the provision made for workers who are ill, incapacitated or old, and for those who are out of work, by means of statutory measures and self-help.-Full rights for the working classes in the Empire, the State and municipalities, to be obtained, mainly, by democratising the suffrage and by admitting representatives of the workers to assist in all kinds of legislative and administrative work.-Complete autonomy to be granted to all institutions, such as Labour Councils, workmen's insurance organisations, etc., which have been formed for the benefit of the workers.— The development of workmen's Co-operative Societies, unhindered by bureaucratic regulations.-Workers to be entitled to co-operate with employers in the determination and alteration of conditions of labour.-The gradual reduction of hours of labour, so that workers may have leisure to make full use of the above rights. 2. Extract from the resolutions of the Central Committee of the Commercial, Professional and Industrial Unions of Berlin and of the Union of Merchants and Manufacturers of Berlin, dealing with the regulation by law of homework. (7th May, 1907.) I. The obligation of employers to keep a systematic register, for purposes of inspection, insurance and statistics, of any middlemen, persons carrying on domestic industries, or out-workers directly employed by them, should be expressly recognised as a preliminary condition for, and the basis of, all reforms. 2. No serious objections stand in the way of a regulation requiring written particulars of the rate of wages to be supplied before work is given out. 3. It is desirable that home-workers should be brought under the system of compulsory insurance, and that information bureaux and work registries be instituted for them. 4. A most emphatic warning is issued against the introduction of general measures, which would not take into consideration differences in the various localities or in the various branches of industry. 5. Where measures are introduced dealing with the points specified above, this should only be effected by means of special laws or orders. 6. Any attempted reforms must most decidedly be condemned, which tend to make the chances of subsistence questionable either for employers or employees, and which tend to endanger or finally undermine the most vital interests of the lower classes of society; the home industries of Berlin alone, for instance, have an annual turnover of 600,000,000 marks, and provide 120,000 persons with occupation and the means of earning their livelihood. 7. It is necessary, before introducing legislative measures, to await the authentic information on the position of home-workers which the Government is now procuring, and also to submit the results of the inquiry to the persons affected for their consideration. I. Mining. II. Labour Legislation for Particular Trades. A.-Extract from the resolutions adopted at the seventeenth General Meeting of the Miners' Federation of Germany (the old Federation), held at Dortmund from the 5th to the 9th May. (1.) The longest duration of any shift for every class of worker shall be 8 hours in all mines. (2) Where the work has to be carried on in damp places, or where the temperature exceeds 28° C., hours of labour shall be limited to not more than 6 hours. (3) The amount of time occupied in descending and returning to the surface in the cage shall be included in the length of a shift. (4) Overtime and extra shifts, or prolongation of hours of labour, shall only be permissible when necessary to prevent loss of life, or when mining operations are extraordinarily disorganised, or when a shaft has to undergo repair. (5) The employment of women shall be absolutely forbidden in mines. (6) Sick-pay shall be increased to three-fourths of the average wage. (7) Uniformity and reformation of miners' benefit societies. Introduction of secret ballot at all miners' benefit society elections. (8) Members shall have free choice of doctors within a radius of 10 kilometres. (9) Introduction of controllers of mines to be chosen by the workers, and paid by the State. B.-Extract from the resolutions passed at the eleventh General Meeting of the Trade Union of Christian Miners of Germany, held at Gelsenkirchen, on 29th June. The eleventh General Meeting of the Trade Union of Christian Miners of Germany welcomes the adoption of legislation by means of which the coal and potash fields at present unlet have, in the interests of the community at large, been withdrawn from the hands of private speculators, as a result of which greater influence has been secured to the State on the exploitation of these mines, and consequently on the market. The General Meeting regrets that this legislative reform does not cover the whole field of mineral mining, the result being that the large smelting firms retain their monopoly of the mineral output. As regards recent amendments to the mining laws, affecting conditions of employment, the General Meeting declares that the justified claims of the workers have in no way been met by these amendments. In view of the constantly deteriorating standard of health amongst miners, of the large increase in the number of accidents occurring, and of the disasters which still continue to take place, more complete protection for the health and life of miners is urgently called for. The old claims of the miners in respect of miners' benefit societies have also not yet been met. The General Meeting considers it urgently necessary that those demands of the first Miners' Congress at Berlin which have not yet been granted should be carried out. Since the justified claims of the miners have not yet been satisfied by the legislation of the separate States, the General Meeting reiterates its demand for the introduction of a mining law for the Empire. (a)-Extract from the resolutions passed by the seventeenth General Meeting of the German Federation of Commercial Societies on 27th May, 1907. This meeting expresses the desire that the interests of assistants employed in commercial undertakings shall be considered in the proposed law dealing with Labour Councils, by the formation of Merchants' Council. One-half of the members of the Councils should be elected from among the employers and the other half from among the employees. Female employers and employees ought to have the right to vote and stand for election, and the Councils should be granted legal powers in respect of calling meetings and carrying on the proceedings. The cost to be borne by the Empire. This meeting further desires that independent commercial inspectors be appointed who, as far as possible, shall be members of the commercial class. The Government is requested to see that the work of administration and supervision is duly performed by officials specially suited for such duties. To this end, the Government should consult the Associations of Commercial Employees as to the best methods of carrying out the provisions of the law. (b)-Extract from the resolutions passed by the tenth Congress of German Commercial Employees held at Dresden on 8th, 9th and 10th June, 1907. (These resolutions were passed unanimously by 3,000 shop assistants from 754 localities.) Hours of Labour in Offices. The tenth Congress of German Commercial Employees welcomes with great pleasure and satisfaction the almost unanimous resolution adopted by the German Parliament on 16th April, 1907, in accordance with which the Federated States are requested to submit a Bill for the regulation of the hours of labour and of Sunday rest for assistants, apprentices and workers in offices and such commercial undertakings as are not connected with public places of sale. The Congress of Commercial Employees hereby begs to state that it confidently expects the Federated States to take the request of the Imperial Parliament into consideration very shortly, and submits the following principles as the basis for the introduction of legal regulations relating to hours of work in offices : (1) Complete Sunday rest. |