The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-03-03
AUSTRALIAN LABOR
. UNIONS LOSE FAITH
IN ARBITRATION
BY w. Francis Ahern.

SYDNEY, New South Wales. March
1.-The recent coal strike in Australia
has again brought home the fact that
arbitration has entirely failed to give
satisfaction to the working class.
That it may have benefited this or
that particular union is beside the
question at present, but it is fast be-
coming apparent that the workers can
achieve more by the strike than by
the slow route of arbitration..
Strange as it may seem while arbi-
tration was supposed to be the help
ing hand Of the unions, it is today
in Australia. at least-looked on with
favor more by the employer class.
The capitalists of Australia today saw
that the Arbitration court has be-
come an essential part of our social
machinery, and must be retained and
assisted
This observation, it would be as we'll
to say, was only made when it was
found that the Arbitration court in
Australia was held owing to con-
gestion, and that claims now set down
for hearing will be heard at some time
in the distant future. Readers will
thus see why the employers are
anxious that the Arbitration court
system should be retained at all costs.
1t should be remembered that in
the days when the Labor. party was
fiercely advocating arbitration as a
reform the people who are now stand
ing for it, the capitalists, strongly Nd
posed its application. Because of this
fact the fight for arbitration at this
time was probably Il phase of the
class struggle, and had to he persisted
in by those who had initiated the
demand. Yet, having been successful
III legislativtly effe:ting arbitration, it
was inevitable that it world come to
be regarded as givin: security and
stability to the opera tons of en-
r'oyerdom, and therefore makes em-
ployerdom its strongest advocate.
History Repeats Itself.
1t would not he unfair to claim thai
this is the position today In this
matter it will be seen that history
repeats itself. Over and over again
employerdom has opposed this or that
labor demand, only to find, when the
demand has been made practical, that
it helped employerdom more than it
helped those responsible for it's estab-
lishment
It looks. as if nothing short of the
abolition of the traffic in labor will
ultimately be of solid benefit to the
working class.
The politicians Of Australia have
always said that we could not have
arbitration and the strike side by
side, and in theory you cannot. But
actually we have had this con-
Trajectory state of affairs. Our posi-
ton is that arbitration has only been
a useful instrument to the workers
because of the power of the strike
behind it. To surrender the right to
strike is to surrender all, for when
you say that in no circumstance you
will not down tools then you place
yourself at the mercy of the boss.
;; So, above all, the workers must al
ways retain the right to strike, come
what may. for it is believed that while
this right is maintained arbitration
will fail to become the despotic en-
SLAYER it might easily become as the
weapon of the ruling class. But since
it would seem that arbitration is 60
ing to be with us, even though it is
likely to be more or less criticised,
readers must see the necessity of pro-
paganda in the direction of eliminat-
ing capitalistic influence entirely from
the application of arbitration.