IN ITSELF RIDICULOUS

Chronicle (Levin), 14 September 1946, Page 7

IN ITSELF RIDICULOUS

County Chairman's Corament NEWSPAPER'S ARTICLE "In itself it was ridiculous," said the chairman, Mr. G. A. Monk, at a meeting of the Horowhenua County Council yesterday, in referring to a leading article in the Southern Cross on August 24, criticising remarks made by him as president of the New Zealand County Councils' Union of, Employers in his annual report to the union. The remarks made by Mr. Monk at the union's annual meeting, and to which the article referred, were (inter alia) as follows: "Stabilisation was being further broken down by pressure groups, which by striking, threatening to strike, going slow, and other forms of direct action, compelled increases in wage rates. "It was unfortunate that no solution was in sight and that a deterioration of the position could be expected, and county councils were not in the "happy position of being able to recoup their added costs as readily as other employers were apparently able to do. "The industrial unrest did not diminish with the termination of the war. On the contrary, a good deal of discontent had been expressed because of the alleged failure of employers to introduce the 'new order' which the worker# appeared to regard as a coming means of obtaining high earnings and better conditions, and unfortunately tnese things were anticipated in conjun'ction with reduced working hours and the resultant falling in production. "Obviously the standard of living would not be improved by merely increasing wages and leisure, and until this was generally realised there was bound to be discontent and disappointment. Certain of the leaders in the Labour moveT ment appreciated that increased production was essentiai, but their advice was regarded by the rank and file with the utmost suspicion, and therefore it could not be expected that it would be acted upon." The leading aticle read (inter ; alia) as under: "To say that leaders of the Labour movement appreciate the need for increased production, but that the rank and file regard their advice with suspicion, is not only wrong; it is mischievous. "To try to differentiate between the workers and their leaders is a familiar trick, and to try to do it on the basis of Mr. Walsh's report on the need for more production is a trick • that was thoroughly exposed by j the Federation of Labour j months ago. i "The workers did not ques- . tion the soun«*iess of the ! Walsh report. ' The workers know that production must be ; increased. What they did ques- j tion was the manner in which : reactionary organisations hail- ; ed the report and exploited it for their own purposes. "Practically the whole of the speech Mr. Monk made at his organisation's general meeting i yesterday was based on the assumption that the workers do not intend to increase produc- j tion, though they will want higher wages just the same. "Let it be repeated that the workers know their responsibilities, but at the same time let it be emphasized that they know what rights they have to an adequate share in whatever increased wealth they do produce." At yesterday's meeting of the council, Mr. Monk said that at the^ time the article was published he' had made no comment. If the article had done nothing else, it had drawn attention to the vicious circle of wages endeavouring to chase costs. He had drawn attention to that fact ten years ago when he was participating in an : election campaign. "Once stabilisation is interfered with," continued Mr. Monk, "the man on wages is the loser, chasing the spiralling costs. If the article did nothing else, it showed that if the present standard of i living is to be kept up it must be kept up by production." In that he i agreed with the article. ! Cr. J. W. Gimblett said he had ' nothing but contempt for the men ) who wrote the article, referring as it did in a slating manner to one • highly thought of in this district. The reference to the article

arose when the council was considering a copy of the report of the annual general meeting of the New Zealand County CounciFs Union of Employers forwarded to it by the union.