TERMS SAID TO REPRESENT A COMPLETE CAPITULATION BY GOVERNMENT

Chronicle (Levin), 14 February 1947, Page 5

TERMS SAID TO REPRESENT A COMPLETE CAPITULATION BY GOVERNMENT

— Press Assoeiation •

By Telegraph

WELLINGTON, February 14. i While he had learned unG'fhcially the terms of the agreemeut between the Minister of Labour and the Waterside ! Union Exeeutive! the" inf'ormation was still confidential and j he was nbt at liberty to disclose it, said Mr. "K. A. Belford, I the employers' representative on the Waterfront Industry ! Comm'ission, today. It was suffieient to say, however, that the , Waterside Union lea-ders were dlpi^ted at the outeome. In Mr. Belford's o.pinioh the terniAof the settlement repfe- ! sented a comp'lete capitulation by the Government to the i union, and was just an other instance, although protoably the « ' most flagrant on'record, of the jungle law that "might is ! right" in the present industrial set-up in this country. i . It was incredible to him that the decision of a Commis- | sion set up by the Government, and presided over hy a^ Judge ; of the Supreme Court, could be disregarded by a Minister of • v ] the Crown, who, in a secret conc'lave with union representaj tives, arrived at an agreement without any consultation with I the Commission, or as far as he kn-ew with the employers. ! That the agreement might cost the employers or the com- ; munitv another £100,000 or so a year while the existing slackj ness and wastage of labour on the waterfront remained uni challenged was perhaps beside the point, the vital factor being that here was a case decided by a Jud'ge after hearing both sides, rejec'ted by one of the litigants and rejudged and rodecided by a Minister after hearing only one side. As far as he could see the Minister had no power under the regulations to implement the agreement or cancel the ; Judge's decision, and while he, Mr. Belford, was a member of the Commission — and he had no intention of resigninghe would not agree to the Miinster's agreement with the ; union being implernented by the Commission.