It is alleged that there are many unemployed, but this has ever been the cry when the Labour leaders want to prevent immigration. The percentage of trade unionists out of work is not as great as it has been on several occasions in the past, curiously enough even in the days of the wait, when it might have been thought that no-one would be registered as idle. It so happens that the shearing throughout the pastoral districts has been completed, without difficulty, despite the fact that the leaders of the Australian Workers' Union called a strike to resist a reduction in wages. Hardly a day passes but the newspapers shriek about industrial troubles, but in most cases it is a case of the mountain and the mouse. The sugar-cane harvest is nearly over, some of the raw sugar mills having closed down, There were the usual minor troubles but the men generally fairly observed the conditions laid down by the industrial courts. The crop suffered somewhat from dry weather in places, and estimated cane supplies earlier in the year have not come up to expectation. It is, however, expected that the general output of some 280,000 tons will be realized, as the reduced weight of cane is usually accompanied by a higher sugar content, and greater density of the juice.
In what will one day become the "Black Country" of Australia, namely, the coal areas of New South Wales, where most of the iron and steel industries are located, work is being steadily increased upon the new basis laid down by the courts. This basis includes amongst other items a 18-hour week instead of one of 44. Of course, the unions are resisting the lengthening of hours, but as the only alternative to 48 hours is complete idleness the men mostly protest and go to work. There seems little question that the influence of the extremists is waning. It seems certain that we are entering upon a period of industrial peace and activity,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.