LABOUR FEDERATIONS CONCERN AT UNREST

Chronicle (Levin), 14 January 1947, Page 6

LABOUR FEDERATIONS CONCERN AT UNREST

Five Points for Discussion NEXT WEEK'S MEETING WELLINGTON, Jan. 13. Examinations oi thie national economy of New Zealand, and the position of the Federation of Labour in industrial activities, are on the agenda .for : ' the extraordinary conference called by the federation executive for its affiliations. Five basic items for discussion appear on the agenda, which was issued on Saturday afternoon to the interested organisations. The circular assures delegates to thie conference, which is to begin at the Trades Hall, Wellington, at 10 a.m. on January 21, that measures are being taken to pr-ovide for travel facilities and accommodation. "In view of the seriousness of the present industrial situation and the future of the trade union movement," states the circular, which is addressed to the offieials of the affiliated orgauisations, ''you are urged immediateiy to bring this extraordinary eonfereuce, its date and purpose, before members of your organisation, and seud delegates to the conference in accordanee with rule 13 of the constitutiou of the Federation of Labour." The first iteui on the agenda is a eou--sideration of the present waterfront dispute aud its elfect on the Labour movement. The second item is to consider the waterfront dispute in relatiou to the decisions reached at the annuai conference of the Federation of Labour in 194(j. At the conference, the Minister of Labour (Mr. McLagan) said that all other possibiiities of settllng industrial disputes should be exploited before stoppages of work occurred, and that it had been in the long-rauge intcrests of the workers as a whole whcnevcr the federation had opposed stoppages. A determination of the policy of the Federation of Labour in relatiou to tlie present waterfront dispute is the third item for discussion at the conference uext Tuesday. This is followed by an item liaving as its object the making of provision to ensure observanee of conference decisions. The final item on the agenda is expressed in the longest language, and it describes the intended discussion in these words: "To examine the future national economy of New Zealand, and to determine the place of the- Federation of Labour in conneetion with industrial activities, with a view to ensuring the progressive development of the Labour movement and the Dominion. " : ' , ' • At the liist annuai con'ference of the Federation ;.of .Lfibourj - tlie j delegates adopted ■ thei repoirt, jWliich includud a s'eetioA5 deklin'g 'wi.thii'iidustrial; disputes. It .vvas.oii -this seetronkthat-tjie Minis.ter of ' Labour,. (Hon. |4-.- ' Mclikgkn) ;spo'kei He said on tliat o;eck'sipn:-rT'. ... y • ; ; "In: the ma'in, wdrkers' Aave redlised ^t&ttt'itljepe.is litt^eJiistificaitiQU!, for .stdp pages; in! iu^stry.i ;dt -Ipresenl Apiple lnachinQry exists for, .the ;settlomeiit of disputes,' "jaud ; the' national rexecutiyo aud 4 he: '.national (ipn'uBil have repeated ly requested that' negotiations. -should be initiated before a. stoppagei.diovelbps, and not after Wards.- :: . » "The only people !'wh'o can beneiit by unnccessary stoppages are the opponents of Labour, and they will not liesitate to incite strife in the hope that tlie publie will be antagonised, and .thus serve the end the opponents of - the trade unions have m view — undermining and defeating the Labour Government. The unions res|,raining action today— apart from the heed -to safeguard life or resist vietimisation— are the unions wluch have fought in the past, and will iight again tomorrow if the circumstances demand it. " Oue delegate, Mr. 8. W. Lane (Auckland) said tliat no union should adopt ''jungle tactics" without cousultiug and respecting other unions which might be involved in strife. Chief grievance of the unionists, as expressed publicly, has been the restriction "imposed upon them by the economic stabili'sation policy. The votiug of increases in tlie salaries of members of Parliament and the graut of an extra £5 a week to Judgqs when the workers could not get 5s without a stabilisation ■ query were tvvjo major factors in bringiug forvvard publicly tlie dissatisf action of rapk and (ile unionists. : _ These and increases to certain of wliat were termed the " upper' strata " of the community brouglit open complaint from uuion quarters- in many parts of Kew Zealand. At the sauio time there was insistent demand for more efficieut price control. A demand begau to emerge for a full overhaul of stabilisation. The national executive of the Federation of Labour, reporting to its national council just before Christmas, reaffirmed its. belief in stabilisation as a shield for tlie workers iu tinies of inflation, and reaffirmed, also, its belief iu inereased production as a means to defeat inflatlouary tendencies. . The natioual executive said, liow ever: "Inereased production is uo;t enougli unless those who.work in industry and render service are compeiisated for their efforts by an inereased proportion of the products of their : labour and services. " The executive recommended that the federation should press further amend ; ment to the Economic Stabilisation Emergency Regulations empowering : the Court* to restore and preserve the rates of remuneration in relatiou with the increases granted to other sections

of the community since April 1, 194(3.5 Th executive also recoiniiionded tlial : tlie federation should request the Gov I :r n ment, m tlie interest and continued mpport of stabilisalion and tlie production ot esseutial goods, to reorganise the Price Tribunal with the objeet of pursuiug a more rigid system of price control, aud request the Government ilso for direct representation for the Federation of Labour on all committees affectiug essential production and stabilisation. This report, along 'with othefs on stabilisation, was referred to a special meeting of the national council, the date of which has now been fixed for Pebruary 19. Meanwhile suggestions from union quarters on stabilisalion policy have ueeu inviled. * Oue of the first to res- ! pond was the Waterside Workers'' Union, among whose propositions were: -\ minimum wage of £(3 lls (incorporating t.he eost of living bonuses) ; a etandard weekly wage of £(3 lls for tiu-

skillcd workers, £7 2s (3d for serniskilled, and £7 14s for skilled; payment of at least 90 per cent. of the niale wage rates to fomale workers; overhaul of price control, and raising of the sickuess and unemployincnt benefits from £2 a week to £3 a week. These proposals could hardJy be aecomnrodated within tlie existing frameworlc of stabilisation, but it is considered likelv tliat they will be followed by more aiid similar proposals from other unitms. The extraordinary conference called for January 21 will not necessarily have stabilisation as part of its agenda, but when industrial disputes under present- day conditions are debated by union leade'rs, the current discont.ent among workers over their wage Tates must of necessity become involved. These issues are intimately bound up with the present tendency toward direct action, a tendency which the Government has clearlv indicated it will take all practicab.le measures to bait."